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Thank your donor 7 times

March 9, 2010 By Sandy

There’s nothing more important than thanking our donors. We need to make sure donors know how much we appreciate them and their generosity.  So thank your donor 7 times. The 7 Thanks don’t have to be elaborate or expensive – just sincere.

The initial Thank You should be timely.  Your quick response to a donor’s gift lets them know that you did in fact receive their gift and that you are glad to have it.  Ideally, you should get an initial Thank You letter out within 48 hours of receiving a gift.  There’s nothing worse for a donor than waiting weeks or months for a gift acknowledgement.

Subsequent Thank Yous may be spread out over several weeks or months.  Letting a little time go by between Thank Yous shows the donor that you haven’t forgotten about them.  And, it helps you build a relationship.

Ideas for the 7 Thank Yous:

  • Computer-generated letter
  • Hand-written note card
  • Phone call
  • Email
  • Call or note from the Executive Director
  • Call or note from a Board member
  • Call or note from another staff member (NOT a Fundraiser)
  • Note from a client
  • Photograph of your organization in action
  • Written update about the use of the donor’s gift

So get busy and thank your donors!

Filed Under: Donor Acknowledgement Tagged With: , ,

Tips for thanking a donor

March 8, 2010 By Sandy

Taking a few minutes to thank a donor is some of the best time you’ll spend as a fundraiser.  Don’t overlook or underestimate the importance of this small task!  When done well, donor appreciation can bring big rewards later on.

Here are a few tips for thanking a donor.

1. Send a Thank You letter promptly.  Ideally, you want to have a Thank You letter in the mail to the donor within 48 hours of receiving their gift.  If you can’t possible do 48 hours, then figure out what you CAN do and be consistent.

2. Personalize the letter.  This is NO time for ‘Dear Friend.’

3. The Executive Director of the organization should sign the letter.  This shows the donor how important their gift is.

4. Include meaningful information in the Thank You letter.  Let the donor know how their gift will be used and what impact it will make.

There are probably dozens of other things you can do to strengthen your Thank You letter.  If you have a good one, hit the comment link and share.  We’d all benefit from what you have to say.

Filed Under: Donor Acknowledgement Tagged With: ,

Donor appreciation in the small shop

March 2, 2010 By Sandy

When you work in a small fundraising office (or shop), you’ve got to be judicious with your time to get everything done.  I know.  I’ve been there.

I once worked in a nonprofit where one other person and I shared all the administrative and fundraising tasks, and some of the program tasks.  It wasn’t easy.  But it did teach me that I HAD to prioritize my “to do” list and focus on those things that would bring me the most bang for the buck.  What I figured out pretty quick was that spending most of my time on special events was not the best use of my time.  Making thank-you calls or taking major donors to lunch was a much better way to spend my time.

If you are the only person working on fundraising for your organization, you’ve got to work smarter, not harder.  Make sure that whatever you are doing is worth doing, and moves you toward reaching your fundraising goals.  You’ve got to move to being proactive instead of reactive.  In fact, when you don’t have a plan and you spend all your time putting out fires, there is no time to work on things you should be doing.

Once you prioritize your activities, look for ways to systematize your activities.  Using a donor-tracking software will help you streamline gift-entry processes and easily generate thank-you letters.  Anything you do more than once, you should be thinking about how you can do it more easily.

Thanking donors should alays be a priority, no matter how much time you have on your hands.  There’s no better use of your time as a fundraiser than thanking your donors.

Filed Under: Donor Acknowledgement, General Fundraising Tagged With: ,
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