Author: Kris Cole
Every December, nonprofit organizations face a familiar communications dilemma: How do we wish our supporters a happy holiday season without making assumptions about which holidays they celebrate? For some organizations, the answer is simple. Replace “Merry Christmas” with “Happy Holidays,” add a festive graphic, and call it a day.
But inclusive holiday messaging deserves more thought than a seasonal vocabulary adjustment. For those of us working in fundraising, it presents an opportunity to practice something we talk about all year long: genuinely donor-centered communication. Because the goal isn’t simply to avoid offending someone. It’s to make people feel that they belong.
Gratitude is Universal
Our donors come from different faiths, cultures, backgrounds, and experiences. Some celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza or other religious and cultural holidays. Some observe traditions at entirely different times of the year. Others don’t celebrate holidays at all.
What unites our supporters isn’t a particular holiday. It’s the belief that our organizations are doing something worthwhile and that their generosity can make a difference. That’s a pretty powerful thing to have in common.
When we center holiday communications on gratitude rather than assumed traditions, we reinforce the relationship that brought our donors to us in the first place.
See the Person, Not Just the Donor
We spend a great deal of time in fundraising discussing donor-centered communications. We personalize appeals, segment audiences, recognize giving histories, and craft messages that connect supporters to the impact of their generosity.
But donor-centered communication is about recognizing that donors are individuals with lives, experiences, and identities that extend well beyond their relationship with our organizations.
Consider the familiar holiday greeting: “Wishing you and your family a joyous holiday season!”
It’s warm. It’s well-intentioned. But it also makes assumptions. Not everyone celebrates this time of year. Not everyone has family nearby. And for people experiencing grief, isolation, financial hardship, or difficult family relationships, the holidays may be anything but joyous.
We don’t need to eliminate warmth or celebration from our communications. We simply need to leave room for the possibility that our supporters experience the season differently.
“Wishing you peace and moments of connection this season” communicates warmth without prescribing what someone’s holiday experience should look like. That’s a small change, but thoughtful stewardship is often built on small things.
Sometimes, Just Say Thank You
Here’s a radical thought for fundraisers during the busiest giving season of the year: What if we just said thank you?
No donation button. No countdown to December 31. No reminder that there’s still time to make a tax-deductible gift. Just gratitude.
Our supporters are already navigating an avalanche of year-end appeals. A sincere message of appreciation, delivered without an accompanying solicitation, can be a welcome reminder that our relationship with them isn’t exclusively transactional.
This doesn’t mean abandoning your year-end campaign. It means making intentional space within that campaign for stewardship that asks for nothing in return.
Thank donors for what they’ve made possible. Tell them what their support has meant. Remind them that they’re part of something meaningful. And then stop. Let the gratitude stand on its own.
Make Your Gratitude Specific
Inclusive messaging doesn’t have to be bland, impersonal, or stripped of personality. In fact, the most meaningful messages are often the most specific. Compare these two greetings:
“Happy Holidays from all of us! We wish you a wonderful season and a prosperous New Year!”
And:
“Because of your generosity, more young people had the opportunity to discover their creativity this year. Whatever this season holds for you, we hope you know how much your kindness has meant to the students and families we serve.”
The second message does more than avoid assumptions about holiday traditions. It connects the donor directly to the organization’s mission and acknowledges the difference they’ve made. That’s not merely inclusive communication. That’s good fundraising.
And inclusion doesn’t require organizations to abandon their own traditions. A faith-based organization can authentically celebrate Christmas. A Jewish cultural organization can share the significance of Hanukkah. The distinction is between sharing your organization’s traditions and assuming everyone receiving your message shared them. Authenticity and inclusion can coexist beautifully.
Inclusion Is a Year-Round Practice
Of course, there’s a larger conversation here.
We can carefully craft the most inclusive holiday greeting imaginable, but if our communications throughout the rest of the year consistently overlook certain communities, make assumptions about our supporters, or fail to reflect the people we serve, that December message rings a little hollow.
Inclusive fundraising isn’t a seasonal exercise. It’s an ongoing commitment to making people feel recognized, respected, and valued. That includes the language we use, the stories we tell, the images we select, the accessibility of our communications, and the ways we recognize contributions beyond financial gifts.
We shouldn’t dust off inclusion with the holiday decorations and pack it away in January.
The Gift of Belonging
As fundraisers, we spend the final weeks of the year focused on important numbers: dollars raised, gifts received, campaign performance, and progress toward goals. But there’s another measure of successful stewardship that deserves our attention. Do our supporters feel appreciated? Do they feel connected? Do they know they matter to our organizations beyond the gifts they make?
The most meaningful holiday message we spend this year may not be the cleverest subject line, the most beautiful card, or the most elaborate impact report. It may simply be the assurance that our supporters belong. That their generosity matters. That we see them as people, not just donors. Because while our holidays and traditions may differ, the human desire to be seen, valued, and appreciated is something we all share.
A Little More Gratitude. A Few Less Assumptions.
Looking for practical ways to make your year-end donor communications more inclusive? We’ve put together seven simple examples of how small changes in language can help every supporter feel seen, valued, and appreciated.
Download our FREE Holiday Messaging Guide now.
