How to Talk About Tax-Law Changes in Year-End Appeals

While the new tax law doesn’t go into effect until next year, fundraisers might want to change the way they’re talking to donors about year-end giving, say fundraising consultants.

“It’s an interesting year for a lot of donors, both at the everyday level and at the major-donor level,” says Lynn English, president of the fundraising consulting firm English Hudson. She says that everyday donors may want to push back year-end gifts to early 2026, while major donors may want to make big gifts now due to the tax law changes.

Why? Starting in 2026, the new tax law gives people who don’t itemize a charitable deduction for donations up to $2,000 for married couples and $1,000 for single people. At the same time, however, people who itemize — and tend to give bigger gifts — will have to contribute 0.5 percent of their adjusted gross income before getting any tax break. And itemizers’ tax breaks stop at 35 percent of their taxable income, even though their top tax rate is 37 percent.

That means messages in appeals to donors who itemize should be different than messaging for donors who don’t itemize.

This presents a dilemma because most organizations aren’t intimately familiar with their donors’ finances, says Laura MacDonald, president of the consulting firm Benefactor Group.

“You can guess, but you cannot know for sure whether your donor itemizes or takes the standard deduction,” MacDonald says. “ So you cannot make assumptions.”

‘Have Very Simple Language’

MacDonald and English agree that the most important information to get out is that donors who itemize will get the best tax circumstances if they give before the year is over, while standard filers will get the best tax advantages by giving after January 1.

If you know which donors fall into which buckets, you can have conversations with them, English says. If you don’t, one solution is to offer education for all donors, such as informational webinars about how the tax changes could impact their giving, English says.

Because everyday donors tend to take the standard deduction and would likely benefit from waiting until early next year to make a gift, MacDonald suggests nonprofits scrap December 31 as the deadline for getting gifts in and instead push it to January 15. That way, she says, “those everyday donors now have a chance to make their gift in the new year when tax law will benefit them.”

The gift deadline can be extended for all, but it’s important to offer tips for both itemizers and people who take the standard deduction, MacDonald says.

“Just have very simple language,” she recommends. “We mocked up an insert slip for our clients that says, ‘If you itemize, do this. If you take the standard deduction, do that.’ Just keep it very simple.”

Some supporters will reach out with more complicated questions, MacDonald says. “Always encourage your donors to talk to their own financial advisers.” She notes that while donors who give bigger gifts have incentive to give this tax year, some may choose to give those dollars to a donor-advised fund, where they would get the tax break immediately but could defer the decision on which charities to disburse the funds.

Her prediction: “I think that we’re going to see a lot of money dumped into DAFs at the end of this year.”

Should Nonprofits Talk About Current Events?

Unfortunately, 2025 has been a challenging year, with extreme shifts in government funding, a new tax law, and, at press time, a prolonged government shutdown that is increasing the demand for nonprofit services.

Fundraisers may wonder if they should talk about the situation in their appeals. They worry some donors could be turned off, while not addressing current events could make the organization appear tone deaf to others. The answer depends, MacDonald says.

“If you address food insecurity or housing insecurity, some of the things that are really becoming very prominent right now, you want to raise it because your cause addresses it,” she says. “If your cause does not address that, then I would not raise it. Uncertainty is generally the enemy of philanthropy.”

For organizations whose causes aren’t front and center right now, it’s important to stay focused on telling your story to your audience, says Marlissa Hudson, CEO of English Hudson.

“If you’re going to sharpen your unique value proposition, you better do it now,” Hudson says. “Because the noise level around nonprofits right now is at a fever pitch. To even be able to get through to donors, you have to be very clear about who you are and what you can accomplish.”