End of Year Giving Glow Up
Let's get your end-of-year appeal out the door — together.
One afternoon. Real feedback on the actual thing you're sending. A plan for the six weeks between now and December 31st that leaves you with peace of mind and a fundraising strategy you're proud of.
It's almost fall, which means somewhere on your to-do list is a line that says “EOY appeal” and next to it is a whole lot of nothing. Maybe you have a draft. Maybe you have last year's version open in another tab, which counts. Maybe you have a feeling of dread and that's it so far. All of that is a fine place to start.
On September 23rd, we're pulling fifteen organizations into small virtual rooms with the Giant Squid Group team for live, one-on-one coaching on whatever you're sending out this December. Not a webinar. Not a template you download and never open again. An actual working session where someone reads your actual appeal and tells you, out loud, what's working and what to fix before it goes out the door.
You can bring an appeal, an email, a half-finished draft, or nothing at all — sitting in and listening counts too, and it's often where the best notes come from anyway.
A grounding, a hot seat, and a plan you leave with.
Grounding
First 20 minutes. We'll walk through what we've been building this year: a one-page, five-week fundraising sprint that actually works, pulling from the assets, skills, and wisdom you already have in your head and your Drive.
The Hot Seat
Small groups of 3–4 in breakout rooms. One person's appeal or email gets workshopped live while the GSG team gives direct, specific feedback. Everyone learns from everyone else's turn.
The Plan
You leave with a one-page fundraising plan: a real map from where you are right now to the end of the year, built to keep you sane and still make money.
Community-Centric Fundraising and ethical storytelling — not as a slide we mention once, but as the lens every piece of feedback runs through.
Donor-centered isn't the same as donor-controlled, and the stories your org tells can be honest, dignified, and effective. If your draft leans on trauma or a savior narrative to make the ask land, that's exactly the kind of thing we'll talk through together, in the room, before it goes out.
Fifteen organizations. One hot seat each.
If you want to bring a teammate or two just to sit in and listen, that's more than welcome — the cap is on who gets workshopped, not who gets to be in the room.
You've got an appeal that needs another set of eyes.
This is for you if you've got an EOY appeal (or email, or both) that needs to ship soon, and you'd rather get feedback from people who do this for a living than guess alone at 11pm.
Everything you need to know before you save your spot.
When & Where
Wednesday, September 23
1:00–3:00pm CT
Virtual — Zoom, with real breakout rooms
What to Bring
An EOY appeal or email — this year's or last year's — or just yourself.
Pick Your Tide Zone
Tide zones aren't ranked by how good the living is — they're named for how often the water covers them. High Tide is the driest, most exposed spot on the shore. Low Tide sits underwater almost constantly, which makes it the most resource-rich real estate on the beach. Pick honestly. It tells us where you're standing this October, not what your org is worth.
Low Tide Zone — $95
For orgs running EOY fundraising on fumes and a skeleton crew — most of you, every October.
Choose This TierHigh Tide Zone — $155
Full tuition — the number that covers what this session actually costs to run: four GSG consultants giving live coaching for two hours.
Choose This TierNo application. No explaining your budget. No one in the room finding out which zone you picked.
Once you register, we'll send a short form to submit whatever you want workshopped — that way the team can actually read it before you're on the spot.
What if I don't have a draft yet?
Bring what you've got, even if it's rough or from last year. Or don't bring anything — you can still sit in, listen, and walk away with the one-page plan.
Can more than one person from my organization come?
Yes. One seat in the hot seat per org, but bring whoever else wants to be in the room.