Your Q4 Fundraising Roadmap

Your Q4 Fundraising Roadmap: One Data‑Driven Move Per Month to Maximize Year‑End Giving

By Katelyn Martin, Managing Director, Strategic Information Services

October 1 marks the start of Q4—time is ticking. The final quarter can be make‑or‑break for fundraising results, but turning over every stone can be overwhelming. Commit to one data‑driven move per month to keep your team aligned and your year‑end gifts on track.

October: Hold a Major Gifts Year-End Strategy Meeting

Goal: Focus your energy on the right people and ensure your best prospects don’t fall through the cracks.

What to do:

• Convene your prospect management staff, gift officers, and leadership for a half-day, decision‑oriented session
• Prioritize top prospects for Q4 closes and upgrades and get their opportunity data updated in the system.
• Consult on strategies to reset “stuck” prospects and reassess due dates and next steps as needed.

Tools:

• Pipeline report: Includes the status of planned asks, including target ask amount, ask date, stage, primary relationship manager, and next step.
• Portfolio activity report: Recent and planned touchpoints (meetings, calls, emails, event invites), with overdue actions flagged.

Tip:  Here is a suggested agenda. Also note that Campbell & Company can help you develop pipeline and portfolio reports in your CRM or in Power BI so they refresh automatically and are easy to use in this meeting and in ongoing prospect strategy meetings (we recommend holding a 60-minute meeting every 2 weeks).

November: Prepare Your Ask Amounts

Goal: Ensure annual fund donors receive a specific ask that helps them stretch—ambitious but backed by evidence.

What to Do:

• Define segments (e.g., “renew at $X,” “stretch to $Y,” “transformational at $Z”) based on data—e.g. last gift date and amount, capacity band, and level of engagement. Donors that are already giving larger amounts and that are more engaged are likely more open to a stretch ask.
• Set a recommended ask per prospect, with a round, confident number (e.g. $1,500 vs. $1,475).
• Stress‑test: Share lists out with prospect managers and other staff who may have input or context

Tools:

• Excel or Google Sheets: Combine past giving history (last gift, largest gift, giving cadence) with capacity and engagement indicators (ratings, wealth screening, business news, volunteer leadership).
• Increasingly, AI‑assisted modeling through your CRM or another tool can help suggest ask amounts.

Tip: Improving retention across all donor segments is a crucial priority, especially for donors making gifts under $100, where retention decreased by 8.8% in Q4 2024 relative to Q4 2023 (Fundraising Effectiveness Project). Asking for the right amount is a personalization strategy that supports retention. Campbell & Company can help define ask amounts for your year-end campaign.

December: Send AI‑Powered Outreach to Lapsing Major Donors

Goal: If they haven’t responded to meeting requests, send your best tailored—and data‑informed—email.

What to do:

• Pull data from your CRM for LYBUNT/SYBUNT major donor prospects who have not responded to meeting requests: name, last/largest gift, designated interests, recent engagement, capacity band.
• Segment by interest (e.g., scholarships, research, arts) and by last gift band.
• Draft email variants reflective of the segments and merge relevant data fields.
• Personalize the top tier (top 25–50 donors): add a personal line, reference a shared connection or past conversation.

What to use (Tools):

• Microsoft Copilot or Google Gemini to draft individualized outreach at scale.
• Your CRM data (giving history, programs funded, event attendance, volunteer roles, notes on interests).
• Your brain – these communications should be reviewed carefully by gift officers.

Tip:  Here is a starter AI prompt for the mailing. Campbell & Company can help you pilot this approach—but if you work on your own be sure not to input PII (personally identifiable information) into AI unless it is a closed system.

The Q4 Imperative—and Opportunity

Q4 moves fast, but with a clear monthly focus and the right data at your fingertips, you can protect your pipeline, elevate your asks, and re‑engage high‑value donors before December 31. If you do nothing else: meet now, set the right numbers in November, and communicate smartly in December.

Katelyn Martin

Katelyn brings a unique combination of development and consulting experience to her work at Campbell & Company. Katelyn’s direct fundraising experience focused on arts & culture and youth development, including...