How Do I Help My Fundraisers Meet Their Year-End Goals Without Burning Out?

We’ve hit that familiar stretch on the fundraising calendar—the final months of the year when everything feels urgent. Goals need to be met. Donors are making decisions. Tensions rise.

If you’re managing a fundraising team, you’re probably feeling it, too. You want your people to finish strong without running on fumes. You’re balancing pressure from leadership, tight deadlines, and a team that’s already stretched thin.

So how do you help your fundraisers meet their goals and protect their energy and joy in the process?

My colleague Karen Kendrick has written a lot about this idea: shifting from judgment and pressure to curiosity and partnership. It’s not just a mindset shift—it’s a leadership strategy that can transform how you and your team work together, especially at year-end.
 

Ask Better Questions

When anxiety is high, leaders often react. You look at your numbers and blurt out something like:

“How’s it going?”
“Why aren’t we seeing more big gifts?”
“What happened here?”

Those kinds of questions tend to produce short, defensive answers—and not much else.

Instead, take a breath and lead with curiosity. Ask questions that open up honest conversation:

• “What’s the biggest challenge you’re facing as you close out the year?”
• “What’s working well right now?”
• “What’s getting in the way of securing that next big gift?”
• “How can I help?”

These questions are simple, but powerful. They invite your fundraisers to reflect, not react. They also show that you’re coming from a place of partnership rather than pressure.

When you do this, you often uncover the real barriers holding your team back.

Remove the Barriers

Once you know what’s getting in the way, your job as a leader is to clear the path.

Maybe your fundraisers don’t have compelling donor offers because they can’t get project costs from Finance. Or maybe they feel unprepared to make big asks. Or maybe—and this one’s common—they’re buried under too many internal tasks that have nothing to do with donor relationships.

I hear this all the time: fundraisers being asked to sit on committees, plan events, attend every staff meeting, handle their own admin work—even chauffeur VIPs to the airport.

All of that might feel “important,” but here’s the truth: it’s costing you revenue and burning out your team.

Every hour your MGO spends away from their donor relationships is an hour lost from building connections and securing gifts. And during year-end, that’s exactly what they need to be focused on.

Bottom line: don’t get in their way.

Your job is to protect their time and energy so they can do what they do best—build meaningful relationships with donors.
 

Stay Connected and Supportive

The other trap I see leaders fall into this time of year is disappearing. You get busy managing your own portfolio or tackling organizational priorities, and before you know it, weeks have gone by without connecting with your team.

Your fundraisers don’t want barriers, but they do need consistent support—especially now.

That’s why I urge managers to block one hour a week for each of their direct reports. Use that time to:

• Review last week’s donor activity
• Talk through the current week’s plans
• Strategize about one to three key donors
• Offer encouragement and direction

Do this consistently, and you’ll always know who’s working their plan and who’s stuck. More importantly, your fundraisers will feel seen and supported.

When your team knows you’re in it with them, they’re more motivated to stay focused and energized—even under pressure.
 

Keep Perspective

Year-end can feel overwhelming for everyone. There’s a lot you can’t control: the economy, donor timing, and internal demands. But you can control how you show up for your team.

Ask good questions.
Remove distractions.
Stay connected.

When you lead with empathy and curiosity, you create space for fundraisers to thrive through the busiest season of the year.

If you can do that, your fundraisers reach their goals and finish the year feeling proud, supported, and ready for what’s next.