When Gratitude Becomes a Gift: A Powerful Way to Deepen Donor Bonds
Gratitude. Thankfulness. Appreciation.
The feels both you and a donor feel whenever someone contemplates, or gives, a gift to your organization.
Acknowledgement. Recognition.
These are the underlying secrets known by successful fundraisers worth their salt. At base, they’re about the obligation philanthropy facilitators carry to show supporters how much their support means.
Sounds simple. And it is, once you get in the gratitude groove.
But, like anything in life, getting in the groove requires forethought. And practice.
SECRET #1: When it Comes to Gratitude, Don’t Put the Cart Before the Horse.
The Cart is your annual appeal. The Horse is what drives the cart over the finish line – and beyond.
Inside the Cart is your carefully crafted story showing the problem you address. And offering a realistic solution. And then showing the donor how they can play a critical role in bringing that solution to fruition.
Up front with the Horse leading is your expression of gratitude for the donor’s essential goodness. When you tell them upfront how much their caring, compassion, understanding, loyalty, generosity and leadership mean to you, they’re more likely to give (to be consistent with your flattering impression of them). After they give, your gratitude keeps the warm glow from giving flowing – inclining them to want to give again.
So, how might you start with the Horse?
SECRET #2: Write the Thank You First
Alas, frequently organizations wait until the last minute to draft what should be a warm, thoughtful, compelling thank you letter (sometimes it is neglected until after the first gifts arrive). Also, too often this important task is delegated to an administrative assistant or even an intern or volunteer.
Writing the thank you should not be an afterthought!
The number one reason people don’t give again is because they aren’t thanked properly. It’s also cited as a strong reason people do renew. A Canadian study by donor-centered fundraising expert, Penelope Burk, found 45% of donors reported it was receiving an exceptional thank you letter that inspired them to give again. 40% of respondents said they had received at least one thank you letter in recent memory they would describe as exceptional. Its “warm, personal tone making the letter feel like it was written just for me” was cited most often.
So, it should really be the first thing you do. Because once you know what you’d be grateful to the donor for, you know what to ask them for.
SECRET #3: Positively Incline Donors with Flattery
When you write your appeal, it’s pre-suasion time. You want to lead with a “favor” that will positively incline your prospective donor to return the favor – with a gift. Flattery is a powerful tool. And, when you mean it, it’s not manipulative.
With donors who’ve given in the past, try “Your generosity means so much.”
With repeat donors, you can use “Your ongoing generosity makes all the difference.”
With non-donors, applaud them for being affiliated with you in other ways, or simply for being caring people and/or community leaders. Do not make the mistake of telling them their gift is making a difference – because they haven’t given, yet. Sadly, I receive letters like this all the time — even when I haven’t given. — making the appeal seem less than genuine.
If you assume the best, you’ll often get the best.
For example, a P.S. like this implies the reader already cares: “If every caring person like you gives $100, we’ll raise the $10,000 needed to buy a new van to take seniors on special outings.”
SECRET #4: Thank Donors Immediately
That means 48 hours when snail mailed and instantaneously when made online. People are accustomed to receiving receipts from Amazon right away. They even often get their order in less than 24 hours! So, customer service expectations are high. Be sure you have an engaging thank you landing page to which donors are immediately directed after giving. Plan an automated follow-up thank you email to go out within 48 hours. Sooner is better.
And consider making a phone call too. Perhaps you can’t do this with every gift, but you can pick a subset to call (e.g., all gifts over $100; all repeat donors; all first-time donors, etc.). Leah Eustace at Good Works found “A one-minute thank-you call to new donors increased conversion by over 30%.”
TIP: Don’t waste that call! If you don’t reach the donor, leave a brief voice mail letting them know their gift was received and is very much appreciated. Pure gratitude – and maybe your contact number so they have their own personal connection should they ever have any questions.
What to say? Take some of the thank you language you already drafted, and go warm and fuzzy. Be as personal as possible, and lead with the person before the money.
“Thank you Claire! You are awesome! The gratitude people want to take away is that you appreciate them, not just their hard, cold cash. Donors don’t like to be thought of as ATMs.
Follow the praise with how their gift of $XXX will help solve the problem you presented in your appeal. Since space is short (online try to stay above the scroll), use a photo or video to draw folks into the story (of which they’ve now become an important character}. A picture truly is worth 1,000 words.
SECRET #5: Place Thank You’s Everywhere You Can
Gratitude bears repeating. Because it turns out our “warm glow” from giving is fleeting. Your job, as a philanthropy facilitator, is to reinforce this good feeling by dripping gratitude religiously throughout the year.
You cannot thank people too much!
Go the extra mile. Think of little “gifts” you can serve up to folks.
- Ask someone else at your organization to send a second thank you (especially for gifts above a certain threshold, or for gifts earmarked for specific programs).
- Thank donors in your newsletter or blog.
- Thank donors in your annual (gratitude) report.
- Thank donors in programs.
- Thank donors on your website.
- Thank donors in social media posts.
- Thank donors in advertising and other media.
Let’s Come Back to Your Goal with Fundraising
Isn’t part of it to be able to show gratitude?
When you think about fundraising as being self-serving (to get you towards your monetary goal), you really miss the point.
The point is to make something possible — something for which many, many people can feel gratitude. The people you serve. Their families. Their neighbors. Future generations. Your community. The world. It’s about a lot more than raising a buck.
Gratitude really goes against any self-serving bias because when we’re grateful, we give credit to other people for our success.
Are you giving your donors the credit they deserve?
When you demonstrate true appreciation for your donors’ meaningful actions, you – and they – get in the gratitude groove. It’s a great groove to be in!
Want to Learn More about What Makes a Great Thank You?
Grab the Attitude of Gratitude Donor Guide + Creative Ways to Thank Your Donors. It includes everything I’ve learned over the years, all tucked it into one handy no-nonsense Guide on the practice of gratitude.
106 full pages, with lots of ready-to-use samples and templates. And it includes Creative Ways to Thank Your Donors— with 72 ideas for you to steal!
If you’re not happy with it for any reason, all Clairification products come with a no-questions-asked, 30-day, 100% refund guarantee.
