Written by Debbie Leazer
If there is a group of people that you should value most, it’s those who make fulfilling your mission possible – your donors! Your donors believe in the work that you do and support it, and they appreciate knowing their gifts have made a significant impact.
The smallest thank you – if personal and truly heartfelt – can make a big difference on how confident a donor feels about continued support. Attention to details of the gift and listening to the donors wants will honor them. In the age of computer merging it is easy to overlook generalizing a gift acknowledgment – but paying attention to their special request will show that you are as detailed about using their gift as it was intended.
Showing appreciation for support should never include sneaking in an ‘ask’, as donors will receive it as being insincere. Communicating something that is specific to your organization stands out and shows the donor the direct impact their support has. Gratitude is a gift that we as non-profits can give our donors.
There are so many ways to express your appreciation and gratitude to donors: make a call of thanks, especially to first time donors and inquire how they heard about you and what prompted them to give a gift, have board members/volunteers/the people you serve make the thank you calls; write a hand written note; acknowledge an anniversary and remember a birthday; thank when it is not expected; invite for a visit or tour; shoot a 30 sec. video of an event/activity and send via text while it is happening; send photos; be spontaneous; social media shout out, spontaneous note/call/letter just to say thinking of you.
Be spontaneous with your appreciation, send a quick text or short video at the very moment something is happening that a specific donor has supported or that will resonate with them. Be the ‘THANKS’ they didn’t expect!
Don’t overlook the small givers. Small donations have a significant impact on your bottom line and these are your tried and true believers and supporters. Always value the donor no matter what size of the gift.
