A new year offers more than a clean slate – it’s a chance to pause, review, and set your development plan up for success. Before launching into 2026 goals, take a moment to close out 2025 and let your data inform your next steps.
Here are 4 tips to help you do just that.
1 – Build a 2025 Fundraising Scorecard
Start with a high-level scorecard that shows how 2025 performed compared to prior years. Reviewing trends across 2023, 2024, and 2025 will help you identify growth areas and opportunities to double down.
Include these core data points:
- Giving by donor type: Individuals, Businesses, Foundations, other
- New donors and retained donors during the year
- Overall dollars raised
- Dollars raised online vs. other giving mechanisms
- Top 2-3 appeals by dollars raised
- Top 2-3 events by dollars raised
The goal isn’t perfection, it’s clarity. A simple scorecard makes it much easier to spot patterns, such as declining retention, rising online gifts, or overreliance on a single appeal.
Tip: Fundraising Report Card has a great visual tool that integrates with several donor software platforms.
2 – Evaluate Your 2025 Year‑End Appeal Outcomes
The year-end appeal can be an important fundraising effort during the year, so it deserves its own focused review.
Compare 2025 results to last year, or even the past two years, using these metrics:
- Total amount raised
- Response Rate: total number of donors that gave vs. total number that received the appeal
- Average gift size
- Segment performance: Major donors, lapsed donors, new donors, etc.
- Tip: If Giving Tuesday is a significant event at your organization, look at it alongside the year-end appeal results, or as a separate segment within year-end giving.
- Tip: If Giving Tuesday is a significant event at your organization, look at it alongside the year-end appeal results, or as a separate segment within year-end giving.
3 – Review Lapsed Donors Thoughtfully
January is the perfect time to identify donors who supported you in 2024 but did not give in 2025.
As you review this list, ask:
- Are there long-time supporters who unexpectedly lapsed?
- Are there major or mid-level donors who may need a personal follow-up?
- Where would a phone call, handwritten note, or gentle reminder make a difference?
This isn’t about mass outreach, it’s about meaningful connection. A short, sincere touchpoint can often re-engage donors who simply missed their opportunity to support you.
4 – Tidy Your Database
A clean database leads to better decisions, better segmentation, and better fundraising results. January is an ideal time to handle some essential maintenance tasks:
- Recurring gifts: Update appeals or campaigns tied to gift transactions, as needed.
- Inactive donors: Define clear criteria for inactivity (e.g. no gift, no event attendance within a set timeframe) and update according to database best practices.
- Pledges: Reconcile any outstanding pledges from the year.
- Maintenance Tools: If you don’t already have a calendar established for data maintenance throughout the year, now is the perfect time to establish one. Use this maintenance schedule tool from Kennari to get you started.
Start 2026 with Confidence
Taking dedicated time in January to assess your data, streamline systems, and understand donor patterns can meaningfully change your approach to the year. Instead of guessing, you’ll be making informed, strategic decisions grounded in real data, not just instinct.