# Email: Contract Non-Renewal

**Subject:** Your contract — an honest update

Hi [Name],

I want to tell you this directly rather than let you hear it sideways: we're not renewing your contract when it ends on [date].

The reason is budget. Ours was cut for next cycle, and freelance spend was the first thing to go. This is not about your work. Over fourteen months you've been reliable, fast to respond, and genuinely good at the part most people are bad at — taking vague feedback and turning it into something better than what we asked for. [Specific project] is still the thing I point people to.

I'd like to work with you again when the budget comes back, and I mean that as a plan rather than a pleasantry. I'll come back to you first when it does.

In the meantime: I'm happy to be a reference, write a recommendation, or make introductions to anyone in my network who's hiring. Say the word and I'll do it this week.

Thank you for fourteen months of good work. It mattered.

[Your name]

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*Word count (body, excluding subject line): 180*

**Fill in before sending:** `[Name]`, `[date]` (contract end), `[Specific project]`, `[Your name]`