As a follow up to my enewsletter from last week I want to step a bit deeper into the donor thank you theme. It’s a busy time of year for nonprofits in generating gifts and I am often underwhelmed at the sorry state of affairs when it comes to acknowledging gifts.
Here are some personal examples of good, bad and ugly acknowledgment from both the non and for-profit world:
The Good
- Thursday, Nov. 3, I received a warm thank you call due to an online gift made on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The CEO and I chatted for a few minutes. I was reminded why I admire their work and felt great about my contribution. Total time invested by the organization: 5 minutes.
- My spouse received this warm thank you letter after having some email interaction with Pandora about the security of their website. Actually signed with a pen… not sure it was by Tim, the CEO, but the letter made Mark feel great about his experience. The letter was sent within a day or two of the email exchange. Timely, warm, and created good feelings.
- I received a follow-up call last week from Sara at Minnesota Public Radio for the online fall contribution I had just made. She was phoning to make sure they had recorded the gift correctly since they were having website processing issues the day I made the gift. Timely and thorough follow-up.
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The Bad
- My spouse and I are still waiting for the “official” thank you call or letter from an organization that normally does immediate follow-up after they receive contributions. We love the thank you calls as much as attending their event because we get a chance to connect with people we admire to tell them we appreciate their work. It’s been nearly three weeks and they have already processed the credit card transaction. We’ve been wondering how we were forgotten and how many others were as well? What steps could they take to ensure great follow-up next time?
The Ugly
- I have received a third “Dear Friends” letter from an organization I gave a gift to in 2009. You can read more about that gift interaction here. I had not heard from them for 18 months until December of 2010 when they sent the first Dear Friends letter asking me to increase my gift. There has since been no other communication in that void of time between my first gift and the requests for subsequent gifts that causes me to have a good feeling about WHY I had a connection with them in the first place. I’m sad to say, their letters feel demanding and like I owe them something.
Suggestions from my enewsletter for thanking donors that will cause your organization to stand out:
- First time donor thank you letters -say it right in the letter: Thank you for your first gift!
- Donors who are making a 2nd or 3rd gift THIS YEAR: Be sure you let them know you notice their multiple gifts this year and are grateful.
- Personal notes at the bottom of the thank you letter that are personalized to that donor are powerful.
- And the most powerful way to thank: Short, warm thank you calls from a board member, client, or volunteer made within a few days of receiving the gift.
Some other good reads:
- Five resources you can use to deepen donor engagement
- Seven tips for making better donor thank you calls
- Donor-Centric – Keeping Donors from Feeling Alienated
I’d love to hear your suggestions to creatively stay connected to your donors through acknowledgement practices?
