By the second week of December, inboxes fill up with end of year messages. Each year, more of them read as if they came from the same writer. Increasingly, that writer is ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. These messages reflect on an incredible year, celebrate remarkable achievements and look forward to an exciting future together. Swap the logo at the top, and you couldn’t tell who sent which.
That’s not surprising. Generative AI tools can produce a polished message in seconds, and December is busy, but when the wording is too generic, the appreciation can feel less sincere.
Why your end of year message matters
An end of year message is an opportunity to pause, say thank you and recognise the people who have been part of your year. Taking care with what you say can help those people feel appreciated and strengthen your relationships.
It’s been a tough year for a lot of businesses and households, and for the not-for-profits that support them. Clients may have watched every line of their budgets and donors have given when they had less to give. Most volunteers have kept turning up while their own time and money were stretched.
A message that acknowledges people’s contributions and circumstances, honestly and briefly, shows you’ve noticed. A generic one can leave them wondering.
What gives it away
You’ll recognise the signs. There are phrases nobody says out loud, such as “as we reflect on the year that was” or “an incredible journey”. There are big adjectives with nothing behind them: remarkable, extraordinary, unwavering. There are no names, no numbers and no moments and nothing ties the message to the person reading it.
Here’s a typical AI-generated example:
Dear valued supporter, as we reflect on another remarkable year, we want to express our deepest gratitude for your unwavering support. Together, we have made an incredible difference in our community. We look forward to continuing this journey with you in the year ahead.
Every word of that is pleasant, and none of it is about the person reading it.
A generic message is forgettable. An inaccurate one is worse. I once received an end of year message thanking me for using a company’s services that year. I hadn’t used them once, and it said they didn’t know who I was and that the message had gone to everyone on a list.
This is easy to avoid. A CRM, even a simple one, shows who you’ve actually dealt with this year and how. Check it before you write, so each message matches the relationship.
Write something only you could write
One of the end of year messages that stayed with me came after COVID. It acknowledged what we had all been through and thanked me for staying engaged through it. Another named a specific project we had worked on together. Both were short, and both felt relevant to me.
Include something that connects your message to the relationship: a project, an achievement or a moment from the year. Even when you’re writing to a whole group, use details that reflect your organisation, your community and the year you’ve shared.
Then use the words you’d use if you picked up the phone or were talking to that client or contact in person. If you wouldn’t say “unwavering support” to a donor in conversation, don’t write it.
Clients and customers
For clients and customers you’ve worked closely with, a personal note can make a difference. Name the work you did together and, where appropriate, acknowledge circumstances they’ve shared with you.
Generic: Thank you for your business this year. We value our partnership and look forward to working with you in 2027.
Better: Thanks, Sarah. Getting the new booking system live before the September school holidays was a big ask, and your team made it happen. I know it’s been a tight year in tourism, so I really appreciate you trusting us with it.
Your team
Staff can tell when a message reads like a press release. Be specific about what each person or team achieved, and say it in person as well as in writing.
Generic: Thank you to our amazing team for all your hard work and dedication this year.
Better: Priya, you took on the council contract three weeks into the job, and it’s now one of our strongest client relationships. It’s been a demanding year for all of us, and you made a real difference. Thank you.
Our guide to end of year messages for employees and clients has more examples.
Donors and volunteers
Donors often hear “thank you for your generosity” from the organisations they support. Volunteers give their time and skills. Explain what their contributions helped make possible, and recognise the commitment involved.
Generic: Thank you for your generous support this year. Your donations have made a real difference.
Better: Thank you, Margaret. Your monthly gift helped keep our Tuesday meal service running through winter, when we were feeding more people than ever. We really appreciate you being part of it.
Better, for a volunteer: Dave, thank you for giving up 40 Saturdays this year to help our clients get to their appointments. We’ve heard how much they appreciate your company along the way.
The names and details in these examples are fictional.
Share photos and highlights that mean something
Photos and a few highlights can make a shared end of year email feel more personal. They show what you’ve been doing and help readers recognise the people and work behind your message.
Choose two or three moments rather than a full list of achievements. A project milestone, a community event or a team effort can all work, provided you explain why they mattered and recognise the people who contributed.
For example, a photo from a new service launch could sit alongside a short caption: “With our volunteers and local partners, we introduced a Tuesday lunch group in July. It’s now a regular chance for 25 residents to share a meal and catch up. Thank you to everyone who helped get it started.”
Use real photos from the year, with permission from the people pictured. Keep captions brief and connect each highlight to its benefit for clients, customers or the community. A team celebration can also work when it helps readers get to know the people they deal with.
You don’t need a separate email just to share highlights. They can support your thank-you message, as long as the focus stays on the people who helped make them happen. A detailed annual review is better linked from the email than included in full.
Choose the format that fits the relationship
For people you’ve worked closely with, consider a short email from your own inbox. An individual note gives you room to thank them for something specific.
For your wider community, a newsletter can bring people together around shared achievements. You can send both: a collective message to your audience and individual notes where you have something personal to acknowledge.
Should you use AI at all?
Yes, if it helps. Generative AI tools are useful for crafting a message and for prompting ideas, especially when you have 50 messages to write. But a poor message does more harm than good, so treat what they give you as a first draft, not the finished message.
Before you send it:
- Add the detail only you know: the project, the number, the moment.
- Read it aloud. If a word or phrase isn’t something you’d say to that client, donor or staff member in conversation, change it.
- Acknowledge circumstances you know about, without assuming everyone has had the same experience.
- Replace broad claims with details that belong to your organisation and its relationships.
Take the time to make your thanks specific and sincere. Give people something real to recognise from the year you’ve shared.
Want a second set of eyes on your end of year messages? Infodec offers a paid review service. We’ll check your drafts for tone, accuracy and anything that sounds generic, and suggest changes before they go out. Book a free 30-minute call