Our Thinking
We write about what we're actually seeing inside development shops, not what the sector thinks is happening. Check our papers below, all free to download.
Perspectives from the field.
GivingTuesday will not save your year. It's the warm-up, not the game. The game ends December 31. This field guide is our playbook for turning one performative Tuesday into a six-week sprint that actually closes your year — including the December 28–30 push most teams are too tired to run. [Download Field Guide]
Most organizations pour two weeks of staff energy into GivingTuesday and end up with a number that's fine — not great, fine. The ones who finish the year strong do something different: they treat that Tuesday as the starting gun for a six-week sprint, not the finish line. Because roughly a third of all annual giving happens in December, and nearly 10% lands in the final three days — the stretch most teams are too worn out to work.
This field guide lays out the six moves that decide how your year actually closes — from the goals worth chasing (hint: it's not the dollar figure your board asks about) to the single free lever that beats any subject line you'll ever write, to the December 28–30 push where the money quietly hides. Written by Relate Group President Dan Thorpe, it's the playbook we run with our own clients.