December is consistently the most generous month of the year. Last year, CAF reported that 50% of the public said they always or usually donate to charity over the festive period, which is higher than the 34% who donate regularly all year round. But why do you donors give more at this time of the year, and how can you (ethically) use that to your advantage?
Lead with one emotional story
Who hasn’t cried at a John Lewis Christmas ad? Emotions hit harder over the festive season, which means your donors are primed to respond to emotional appeals. If you’ve been saving a case study highlighting a special stakeholder’s story, now is the time to share it.
At this time of year, your donors are thinking about their families, tradition, legacy, and meaning. By telling one specific story, your organisation’s work goes from abstract to a deeply personal decision to help another person.
Make your campaign asks concrete
While December is undoubtedly the most generous time of year, it’s also the time when there’s the most competition for your supporters’ attention. A vague campaign message about their gift helping the people you support will go right over their heads. Instead, show them how their gift enables a measurable outcome.
In 2004, researchers at Carnegie Mellon University wanted to see how people responded to the opportunity to donate to an abstract cause versus a single person. They gave participants two versions of a letter. The first contained statistics on the magnitude of the problems facing children in Africa, and the second told the story of a single young child called Rokia. On average, the people who read about the stats gave $1.14, while the people who read about Rokia gave $2.38, more than double.
Appeal to who your donors’ self-image
We don’t make decisions based on who we are. We make them based on who we believe ourselves to be.
Most famously showcased in the viral ‘Don’t Mess with Texas’ campaign. In the 1980s, Texas had a serious litter problem. It was costing the government $25M a year to clean up, and the standard emotional anti-littering messaging wasn’t working.
Instead, they targeted the 18-35-year-old pick-up driving male who liked sports and country music and convinced them that people like them didn’t litter. A campaign was built around the slogan ‘Don’t mess with Texas’ and featured athletes and musicians who embodied the ideal of what it meant to be Texan. During the first 5 years of the campaign, roadside litter decreased by 72%.
This is the time of year when donors make values-led giving decisions aligned with their identity, self-image, and the legacy they want to leave behind. Make sure you’re appealing to the person they want to be.
Will 2026 be the year you discover your major gift fundraising potential? If so, we’re here to help. At Prospecting for Gold, we specialise in research, wealth screening, consultancy and regulatory compliance, making fundraising more effective and successful.
Get in touch to start your research-based fundraising journey.