GOOD NEWS: Give Thanks
Good News: An enewsletter for donors and nonprofits
on strategic planning, governance, fundraising, and executive leadership.
Give Thanks
With Thanksgiving near, I am reminded of how important gratitude is to well-being. The old saying in fundraising is that the number one reason people don’t give to nonprofits is that they are not asked. To this truism I would add that the number one reason my donor clients do not return to make additional gifts is that they are not thanked well. Astonishingly and all too often, donors tell me they sometimes are not thanked AT ALL which to me is the equivalent of fundraising malpractice.
A few thoughts about practicing gratitude during this season of thanks:
Saying Thank You Is An Opportunity
When you say “thank you,” treat the exchange as an opportunity to teach and deepen the relationship. Mention your overall goal and update the donor on your progress toward that goal. Say something compelling about your cause and note how the gift will make a difference. Finish by saying thank you again and offering another opportunity to connect, taking responsibility for follow up next steps. ALWAYS follow up. Intentionally organize your calendar so that gift acknowledgment and relationship building with donors is not an afterthought or “nice to have” among all of your other day-to-day responsibilities.
Over Thanking Is Impossible
A cardinal sin of fundraising is to not thank donors at all yet I am told way too often that donors never hear back from the nonprofit they funded. Give your donors confirmation that their funds arrived safely. Send a few kind words of thanks from the chief executive or volunteers who were involved in the solicitation. Follow up after receiving the gift about how it was spent. Invite the donor to meet and see their giving “in action.” Each step represents an opportunity to broadcast your nonprofit's achievements and challenges. All are micro moves amounting to good stewardship and cultivation of donors by simply saying “thank you” and something else.
Who Thanks Matters
Sometimes I encounter organizations that auto generate a tax receipt for incoming gifts and nothing else happens. This is the minimalist version of saying thanks. What a shame. Such impersonal gift acknowledgement can lead to disappointed and unengaged donors who eventually abandon the organization in search of somewhere else demonstrating its competence in the easiest of ways. The opposite of one time, automated thank you’s are personalized, hand-written notes, texts or phone calls from the key players in an organization - the chief executive, other professional and volunteer fundraising leadership (i.e. development staff and board members). Again, parties need to set aside calendar time to routinely recognize donors, especially all first time, five and ten+ year repeating, major, multi-year, and planned giving donors.
How We Thank Matters
Meeting people where they are is an excellent practice, especially when interacting with donors. You need to know your donors well enough to understand how they function, in addition to implementing your baseline practices for all parties. Text “thank you” if they are texters. Send an email if that is how they tend to communicate. Even better, pick up the phone, if only to leave a voicemail. And don’t forget the importance, even expectation, of a hand written note. Just a few words in the margins of a typed letter make a big difference. Over the years and still today, I have been told by major donors that they do not open or read anything that isn’t hand-written.
When We Thank Matters
One nonprofit I know and admire thanks me for my modest gifts immediately, as in my cell phone rings and it’s the executive director calling to say thank you minutes after I submit my online gift. I’m not sure this practice is possible for all others but it does illustrate the range of responses that fundraisers practice. Whatever the immediacy, be sure to thank sooner rather than later. Within a week is ideal for most but of course certain gifts deserve a more real time, personal response. Knowing your donors is critical to making such decisions on a case-by-case basis.
Organizations that do these things well end up making far fewer “asks” because giving naturally follows as a result of very intentional relationship building and information sharing - teaching - through the simplest and most enjoyable fundraising act of all, saying thank you.
Thank YOU!
And since I’m writing about giving thanks, let me say here how grateful I am to my clients, colleagues, family, and friends for your extraordinary examples of competence and compassion in fulfilling your missions. I’m grateful for your company and support as we take this To the Good journey together. I’m inspired daily, having a ball, and learning a ton. What else could I ask for?
Happy Thanksgiving!
Stuff Steve Is Watching, Listening To, and Reading
Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the 2nd Half of Life (2 hour watch)
"Bruce Springsteen once said that the constant deluge of admirers and people who want to touch him, hear from him, and be near him is the price he has to pay for having all of his dreams fulfilled. Because if you're not nice then it goes viral and you turn out to be a jerk rock star." The Atlantic Editor In Chief Jeffrey Goldberg with Arthur Brooks, author of From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life
Watch Here
Grateful Expectations (26 minute listen)
“How do I stop sabotaging my future self? What can we all do to avoid instant gratification and take better care of our future selves? Our lying minds give us a quick answer to this question: 'We need willpower.' I bet you have the intuition that gritting your teeth is the way forward. But that 'just force yourself' kind of willpower tends to disappear as soon as times get rough, deserting us at the very moment we need it most. Cultivating gratitude not only improves mental well-being and physical health but also helps doctors invest more effort into diagnoses and builds strong relationships. Gratitude can even enhance self-control, leading to better financial decision-making, increased job productivity, and a focus on long-term goals." Professor David Desteno with Dr. Laurie Santos on The Happiness Lab
Listen Here
Why a Donor Stopped Giving (5 minute read)
“Along with a donation to an organization addressing hunger, I included a handwritten note saying I wanted to visit its office. I didn’t hear back for a month, until I needed to ask for a receipt for tax purposes. I received the receipt but nothing about my request. On the other end of the spectrum, the director of one organization I support calls upon receipt of my donation to express her appreciation. A prompt response shows you value not only the donation but also the donor’s interest and may even encourage further gifts.” Theodore Wagenaar in The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Read Here
New Website for TTG
Thank you, German and Disla Media!
