Every fundraiser knows that December is the biggest giving month of the year. And at Masterworks, we know that success at year-end isn’t just about doing more. It’s about doing what works.
Based on data across dozens of ministries and hundreds (maybe thousands) of creative tactics from this year’s campaigns, here’s what’s driving results in 2025.
1. Build Brand Awareness Early
Year-end doesn’t start in December. It starts far earlier.
To warm up new audiences and prime them for year-end conversion, focus first on building awareness through social and display ads.
Run broad, interest-based campaigns with the goal of views and engagement, not immediate donations.
The best-performing ads at this stage:
- Don’t focus on giving; they use different calls to action (“Find out how,” “Learn more,” “See impact”).
- Direct viewers to story pages, videos, or resource/prayer guides, not donation forms.
- Feature faces and strong eye contact to build an emotional connection early.
2. Keep It Clear, Bold, and Human
When it comes to creative, simplicity still wins.
The most effective ads across platforms in 2025 feature:
- 3–8 words max on the image
- Clean design with bold, short text
- Strong eye contact photography that captures empathy or hope
Think of your digital ad the way we used to think of envelope teasers: you have one second to make someone stop scrolling. What do you want them to feel?
In 2024, simple, high-contrast ads performed best. In 2023, we layered in a little animation or movement—twinkling lights, falling snow—to capture attention without clutter.
3. Create a January Retention Plan Now
December giving is powerful, but January retention determines long-term growth.
We’ve been testing retention ad campaigns; paid media flights designed purely to thank, report back, and build trust. These include:
- Thank-you ads: “Your generosity is changing lives.”
- Trust-building ads: ratings, accreditations, or testimonials.
- Resource ads: devotionals, prayer guides, or family discussion tools.
- Story ads: showing transformation and impact.
Running these from late December through Q1 has led to:
- Higher second-gift conversions for new digital donors
- Lower sustainer cancellation rates from monthly donors
And we are testing now across all audiences, and all year, to lift retention. Stewardship has to happen where donors already are: online.
4. Optimize for Mobile and Retarget Relentlessly
In 2025, most donor traffic is mobile, but most donations still happen on desktop. That means your job is twofold: make mobile giving easy and use retargeting to finish the gift.
Start by testing your donation form from your phone. An easy way to test it is to make a gift while literally walking your dog. If you can’t complete a gift easily with one hand while you're distracted, then scrolling donors will probably have the same reaction.
Best practices include:
- One-click pay options (Apple Pay, PayPal, etc.)
- Large, legible buttons and form fields
- Retargeting ads that remind mobile visitors to complete their gift later on desktop
Retargeting ads should mirror your campaign’s look and feel; familiarity helps link the conversation, building trust and improving conversion.
5. Email: Press Send
Don’t worry about over-emailing during December; donors are busy, and there are a lot of marketing messages in this timeframe.
Across Masterworks clients, they can send up to 29 emails in Late November through December alone. These often include:
- 9+ GivingTuesday messages
- 10+ Christmas offers
- 7+ Year-End and final-day reminders
Not all emails are direct asks. Some are thank-yous, story spotlights, or impact reports. And it’s important to vary the design and tone—from polished creative to plain-text CEO notes—and segment by donor type where possible.
This is the month to press send.
6. Expand Your Multichannel Touchpoints
Text and ringless voicemail are proving to be powerful additions to the December toolkit. Texts should be short, warm, and authentic, written the way you’d text a friend. And always link to a mobile-optimized donation form.
Ringless voicemail (where a pre-recorded message is silently dropped into voicemail boxes) works especially well for:
- Urgent needs or match reminders
- Thank-you messages
- Lapsed donor reactivation
- Mid-level donor engagement
They’re personal, scalable, and surprisingly affordable. A recent test showed a 14% lift in revenue after the ringless voicemail was sent out, with an 8:1 ROI on the cost of the tactic.
7. Don’t Forget Direct Mail
Despite the digital surge, direct mail remains the “money maker” for many organizations, and it plays a crucial support role even for digital-first donors.
Three formats continue to deliver:
- High-brand, beautifully designed mailings: often preferred by digital donors who may not respond by mail but often give more online when they receive it.
- Handwritten cards: short, legible notes that are great for retaining donors long-term.
- Classic clip-art appeals: the “old faithful” format that still resonates with long-time direct mail donors.
Mail may not always be where the gift happens for all donors, but it often sparks the giving moment.
8. Re-Engage Sustainers and DAF Donors
Sustainers: Almost 40% of our clients’ monthly donors give an additional one-time gift each year, and most of those happen in November and December. Make sure to include your sustainers in one or two year-end appeals.
Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) donors: DAF contributions peak in December and again just before tax season. Send reminders and helpful instructions to encourage DAF recommendations before year-end.
A gentle prompt here can unlock significant revenue.
The Year-End Equation
Winning year-end in 2025 isn’t about one magic channel or a single high-performing ad. It’s a campaign that builds awareness early, creates urgency in December, and extends gratitude into the new year.
- Warm up new audiences early.
- Keep creative bold and human.
- Optimize for mobile and retarget strategically.
- Mix your media: email, text, voicemail, and mail.
- And finally, think just as much about the follow-ups and thank-you as you do about the ask.
May God bless you and your ministry this year end!
