[Year-end] Episode 6: The Last 72 Hours
It's December 15, a little after four in the afternoon. Dana clicks schedule on the last of her final-week emails and heads out for the holidays. The biggest week of Riverbend's year is about to happen, and the person who planned it won't be in the building. That's exactly the plan. In episode six of Finish Strong, we prepare for the last 72 hours of the year, when a huge share of giving comes in.
In this episode you'll learn how to:
- Understand who gives at the very end: tax-motivated donors, procrastinators, and people who meant to give in November.
- Build a six-email final-week sequence, with four of those emails in the last 72 hours.
- Write and schedule everything by December 15 (December 22 at the latest) so a small team can rest.
- Audit your donation page on a phone: load speed, gift amounts, the monthly option, the receipt, and other ways to give, like donor-advised funds and stock.
- Remember that in the US, a check with a December 31 postmark counts for this tax year.
- Make personal thank-you calls to top donors who haven't given yet.
- Run December 31 well: who's watching, updating the match total, and when to stop sending.
- Use AI as a second set of eyes on your emails and donation page before you schedule.
Riverbend Community Food Pantry is a fictional organization, but if you've worked at a small nonprofit, you'll recognize it. Your donors want to finish their year well, and a clear, easy last week helps them do it.
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