Dear friends,

This is a busy time for fundraisers, and Avalon is no exception. Since it’s too late for tips and everyone’s rightly focused on year-end, I will keep this message light. Stay strong, everyone, and enjoy!

Out and About

Avalon’s calendar has been full of both industry activities and client visits. On behalf of our entire team, thank you all for hosting us. It has been wonderful to see so many of our colleagues in person!

Clockwise from top left: At the AAWA conference in New Orleans, letting the good times roll; DMAW Best of Direct co-presenters and great friends; the Avalon team at Best of Direct; hanging with Abe in Gettysburg; honoring Hal Malchow; and celebrating with DMFA at the year-end luncheon.

Dispatch, Wrapped

Taking a tune from Spotify, Avalon marketing and operations manager Mollie Bensen crunched the numbers to uncover the most popular resources from the 2024 Avalon Dispatch. In case you missed something, here is our greatest hits list of most-clicked links in 2024:

1. Building trust through emotional bank accounts: a highly effective habit – February 6, 2024
2. “Philanthropy loves big words. Americans don’t” – April 16, 2024
3. 8 transformative things Jeff Brooks has learned over the past 35 years – August 6, 2024
4. How are we going to get through this? – November 12, 2024
5. Plunge into your deep-sea persona – March 12, 2024

Kennedy Center Honors

On December 8, the Kennedy Center hosted the 47^th Annual Kennedy Center Honors. This year, they honored filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola; blues-rock singer Bonnie Raitt; Cuban American trumpeter, pianist, and composer Arturo Sandoval; rock band the Grateful Dead; and, for the first time ever, an organization—The Apollo Theater in Harlem. It looks like it was a great show, and even the Grateful Dead bears attended! I’ve enjoyed the highlights on social media, and I’m excited to watch the full event on December 22, when it airs on CBS and Paramount+.

Wicked Good Marketing

Marketing VP Barb Perell shared analysis of the strategy behind Wicked’s blockbuster success. One takeaway is that filmmakers leaned boldly into the story’s roots to engage core audiences and innovated strategically to target new segments. It’s a good lesson for nonprofits that want to both engage core donors and achieve wider reach: Don’t sacrifice the essence of who you are or what you stand for, but do explore creative ways to reach beyond the status quo.

Wicked carefully balanced its messaging to appeal to loyal fans and new viewers. For theater enthusiasts, the campaign emphasized nostalgia with events like “Behind the Emerald Curtain” and faithful representations of iconic moments. For new audiences, it introduced partnerships with brands like LEGO to capture younger generations and families, reframing the story as a fantastical adventure like Harry Potter or Frozen. And platforms like TikTok brought the story’s themes of empowerment and friendship to Gen Z in a relatable way.

Color of the Year

Pantone just released the Color of the Year for 2025, and the winner is…Mocha Mousse! I like this better than last year’s Peach Fuzz, and I love a good dark brown in fashion, but I’m not sure about it on my walls. What do you think? If you take the leap in your home, please send pictures!

Photo by Pantone via The New York Times.

Gifts that Do Good

I love the December tradition of browsing gift ideas from leaders, artists, and other influencers. It can be a big help with holiday shopping, and it’s fun just to see what people enjoy. Avalon clients are no exception; in fact, their lists and stores are among my favorites! I hope you also find inspiration in this year’s round up of Avalon clients’ Gifts that Do Good.

Happy Holidays!

Avalon will be closed December 24 – 26 and December 31 – January 2 for the holidays. In addition, we will pause the Avalon Dispatch for two weeks.

As we tie a bow on 2024, I want to offer a heartfelt THANK YOU. I recognize how fortunate I am to connect with you here—and, even more, to collaborate with you every day. I am especially grateful to our clients and the Avalon team for your dedication, creativity, and consistent hard work. You continue to raise the bar for excellence in our profession, and I am so proud of what we accomplish together.