How to re-use last year’s fundraising this year

Are you working your 2026 year-end campaign?

Let me show you how to save a lot of time on it.

Go back to your 2025 campaign. Or maybe some year before that.

If something works in your fundraising, you should repeat it. Don’t reinvent that particular wheel! You have too much on your to-do list anyway.

Re-using old material that worked not only saves time and money, it increases your chance of success. Because every time you create something new, you risk failure. That’s not meant to scare you — it’s just one of those facts of life. It’s not a reason to avoid doing new things — just the way new things usually are.

If you’re afraid re-using old stuff is going to hurt results, stop worrying. If it did well last year, it will likely do well again this year. (But if it did poorly last year, it will likely do poorly again this year. Don’t re-use your past failures!

Will your donors respond negatively to your “laziness”?

I’ve never seen it happen. My guess: The large majority don’t notice. Of those who notice, none are bothered. Okay, there’s probably some persnickety donor out there who notices and is annoyed. But that’s not the norm! Not even close.

I’ve watched many organizations send out the same important appeals year after year for decades, and they keep on working. Sometimes, re-used pieces “wear out” over time; you know it’s happening because response drops. That’s when you know it’s time to create something new.

But give yourself a break when you can. Re-use your past successes.

(This post first appeared on January 13, 2020.)