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Featured Article
Thank You, Merci, Gracias, Danke
That's it - the Big Secret! Saying Thank You is perhaps the most important skill in successful nonprofit management. Thanking donors, sponsors, funders, staff, volunteers...thanking everyone.
Jean's Rules for Thanking Well
Thanking must be timely. Direct mail pundits have told us for a long time that 48 hours turn around is the rule. I say if you don't have time to thank quickly...you shouldn't make time to ask in the first place.
Thanking should be meaningful. Be creative. Find ways to connect the donor with the reasons they donated and the outcomes of their gift. Thank sponsors by delivering what you promised. Thank volunteers for for their time and talent...when they give it, not at the end of the year. Thank funders for their support and give them plenty of feedback about outcomes and results. Thank staff...all the time...you couldn't do it without them.
Do not confuse thanking with acknowledging - they are not the same! An acknowledgement is something that is filed as an IRS receipt. A THANK YOU resonates and connects.
Thank often. Thank when you receive acknowledgement that the pledge, sponsorship, donation will be made. Thank again when you receive it. Thank afterwards with results and outcomes. Thank again even when you haven't received anything.
Thank creatively. Hold a Board thank you campaign and call all your major donors and supporters. Include a thoughtful insert that connects the donor with your mission. Spend as much time and creativity on the thanking as you did on the asking!
And Some More Great Thanking Thoughts
In the November 2009 issue of Fundraising Success Magazine, Jocelyn Harmon suggests:
- Send pictures to your major donors...show the results and create a bond.
- Send thank you notes from the people you serve.
- Send thank you notes from your Board members.
- Don't send a thank you note at all - call instead.
In the December 2009 issue of that same magazine, Jeff Brooks suggests:
- Do receipts right. Use the same language, with the same level of emotion and urgency that motivated the response. That makes it clear the need was, and is, real and it reinforces the donor's decision to give.
- Jeff says "Nothing says sloppy, disengaged, possibly fraudulent like a receipt that takes weeks to arrive. If you don't have your receipting down to 24-hour turnaround you aren't where you need to be."
Summary:
Thanking cannot be overlooked or put off until you "have time."
You'll find lots of creative thanking ideas in my book Fast Fundraising Facts for Fame & Fortune.
Contact me to present a workshop on Fundraising.The training is based on my book and filled with great practical ideas.
Let's discuss your training needs. Jean Block
Next Month: Getting the Board Involved in Fundraising. | 
Thanking is perhaps the most important tool of successful nonprofit organizations. Learn from the experts how to do it well
