It’s no exaggeration: nonprofit CEOs lose millions at year-end. On average, at least 15–30% of potential revenue is left on the table. Why?

Not because donors aren’t generous… but because too often, CEOs approve (or even write) appeals that speak to internal stakeholders instead of moving donors to give.

Your year-end appeal isn’t just another letter. It’s one of the most important revenue levers of your year. Done without strategic expertise, it doesn’t just suppress revenue... it erodes donor trust and costs millions in long-term giving.

The Cost of “CEO-Written” Letters

  • Bragging about your organization. Listing programs, awards, or processes may impress internal staff, but it leaves donors feeling... cold.
  • Talking about internal wins. Donors do. not. care. about your staffing model or your budget balancing act. They want to know the outcomes their gift makes possible.
  • Writing for stakeholders, not supporters. A letter that reads like an annual report doesn’t inspire generosity. It absolutely kills it.
The truth is simple: every time you talk about your organization instead of your donor, you’re bleeding revenue.

Why This Matters for CEOs

  • Year-end giving drives 30–40% of annual revenue for most nonprofits (2025 M+R Benchmarks Study)
  • Even a 10% lift in response can equal hundreds of thousands in revenue.
  • Weak copy is not a typo issue. It’s a trust issue. Donors who don’t see themselves in your message disengage, downgrade, or lapse.

As CEO, your role is not to write the letter. Your role is to:

  • Set the expectation for donor-centered messaging.
  • Allocate resources to the people trained to do this well.
  • Back your fundraising team’s donor-centered copy—even if the board dislikes it. The best boards often do, because what feels uncomfortable internally is what moves donors to give.

What Donors Actually Want

Donors want and deserve is to see themselves as the hero of your story. They want to know the lives they’ve touched, the impact they’ve created, and the hope they’ve made possible.

A well-written year-end appeal doesn’t just raise more money in December. It builds loyalty, strengthens retention, and sets the stage for growth in the year ahead.

The Case for a Professional Fundraising Writer

You wouldn’t ask your CFO to run programs, or your Program Director to do your audit. Why ask yourself—or your board chair—to write the most important fundraising message of the year?

A trained fundraising copywriter knows how to:

  • Craft headlines, stories, and calls-to-action that unlock generosity.
  • Write with the donor as the central character, not the organization.
  • Integrate print and digital appeals for maximum impact.
  • Protect your investment by ensuring appeals go out on time and error-free.

Hiring the right writer is not an expense. It’s an investment that multiplies the return on all the cultivation, stewardship, and program delivery you’ve worked so hard to build.

CEO Action Checklist

Before you approve your year-end appeal, ask:

  1. Does this letter make the donor the hero?
  2. Is it written in plain, emotional language writer at a 6th grade reading level?
  3. Is the ask clear, urgent, and specific?
  4. Does it align across channels—mail, email, web, and social?
  5. Did a trained fundraising writer lead the process?

If the answer to #5 is “no,” then you’re almost certainly leaving money on the table.

Closing Thought

At year-end, the difference between a “nice letter” and a powerful appeal isn’t cosmetic—it’s millions in revenue.

Strong CEOs don’t sit in the writer’s seat. They lead. They invest in professionals who know how to move donors to give. And in doing so, they protect and multiply the resources entrusted to their organizations.

This year-end, don’t risk donor trust, or millions in revenue, on a letter written for internal eyes. Put it in the hands of someone who knows how to speak to the heart of your donor.

Because when your donors feel like the hero of the story, generosity follows.

At GrowBetter, our clients see an average lift of 30% to 350% in revenue per campaign.

Year-end is your season to maximize gains and run into the new year strong.

Book a call with us to see if we’re the right fit for helping your organization capture every dollar your appeals are leaving on the table.