Here’s my take

We all know that thanking donors is critical. And yet, it’s often a task that is overlooked or outsourced to others. Thanking donors has multiple purposes. It not only expresses gratitude for their gift, it creates another touch point with the donor which is particularly important when building a relationship. Writing a thank you note or sending a thank you email also allows you to recap your meeting and confirm next steps, which is especially helpful if the prospect is considering a gift.

With that said

• Consider the audience and customize your approach: When you meet with a family or a couple, sending an email to all parties helps to ensure everyone is on the same page.

• Snail mail: Mail can be slow. For those donors and prospects who are on the go and travel, a prompt follow up email may be the best choice.

• Nothing takes the place of a handwritten note: if you shared a meal with a donor or prospect, visited them in their home, or had some other type of meaningful engagement, a handwritten note is best. You can thank them for their time and also include a personal note about something you learned from them or enjoyed talking about.

Key takeaways

• A prompt thank you is always best: carve out a few minutes of every day to make sure that you are promptly thanking donors and prospects. Send an email the same day of a meeting to thank someone for their time. Send a note the same day a gift is received. A short email saying “I wanted to let you know that I saw your gift post in our system today – thank you!”, followed by a personalized note detailing the impact of the gift, is a nice touch.

• Be organized: if you are traveling for donor visits, bring thank you notes and stamps so you can write and mail a note the same day while you are away on travel. Or, if you have a flight that is over an hour, bring a stack of thank you cards and write all the notes while in flight. Draft thank you emails and save them as drafts so you can quickly send them when you land. Being organized helps to make sure donors are thanked on time and also frees you up to do other things when you return to the office.

• Automate when needed: if your organization’s volume is high, consider personalizing the generic thank you notes that many organizations produce. Flag a few notes that you want to pull before they are mailed and write a handwritten note on the letter. This tactic can be a way to create personalized thank you notes when you have a large volume. More thoughts on how and when to personalize thank you’s in a future post about donor recognition.