Thanking Donors: A Toolkit

Just before Thanksgiving, I received a lovely email from the local yoga studio where I practice. On the subject of gratitude, the owners shared the following: “It’s easy to toss out a ‘thanks,’ but deep gratitude is an embodied experience. It’s a moment of deliberate pause where we allow our appreciation to move from head to heart so we can connect with each other and the divine within.”

I love this sentiment, and it reminds me that thanking, which is one of our most important duties as fundraisers, is also a sacred duty. Connecting with supporters is key to our success, but it also brings personal joy as we honor one another. As we approach year-end crunch time, I wanted to compile my best advice on thanking donors into a single resource. This round up tackles thanking from several different angles, helping with both logistics and content. I hope that it helps you build connections and find success during this busy time. 

Before we get started, take a few minutes and read this article about how to craft a philosophy to thank donors that is informed by care, creativity, and intention. It helps to set the stage for the tactics outlined below.

Brush Up on the Basics: Prompt and Meaningful Acknowledgment

Remember: consistency is key. If you don’t have a good system in place to regularly thank donors, focus on putting in that work first so that your supporters receive a prompt acknowledgment. Just setting this up—even at a very basic level— will help your organization stand out in a crowded landscape. In 2022, I wrote about avoiding common fundraising mistakes, and neglecting to send a thank you is at the top of the list. This can be an especially costly mistake for new donors. Providing prompt and meaningful acknowledgment helps to confirm that they made a good decision to support your cause. 

How do we deliver a meaningful thank you? Meaningful does not mean lengthy, elaborate, or customized content for each and every donor. Again, it comes back to having proper systems in place. In a piece on thanking donors meaningfully, I shared some of my favorite tips. Here are some of the highlights to especially consider at year-end:

• • Tailored Letter Content: Have thank you letter templates ready to go for new and recurring donors, and be sure to switch out core content regularly. 

• • Thank you Calls: Look at your volume of gifts, available time, and establish a regular habit. Blocking off time on your calendar for thank you calls is always time well-spent. 

• • Personal emails and handwritten notes: Work with your leadership to set criteria for when supporters should receive a personal touch. Personal emails, especially, can be easy to set up with short templates, and can really increase connection. 
    
    

Adding Creativity and Building a Gratitude Culture

After you have solid systems in place, you can take your efforts to the next level by adding creativity and building a larger organizational culture around gratitude and thanking. Last year, I shared some creative donor retention tactics which center around gratitude. These include thank you videos, “pop-up” thank you events, and thank-a-thons with staff and board members. Videos are an excellent and dynamic way to connect supporters to your cause. During the holiday season, I think that short thank you videos—45 seconds or less—along with a personal email are very impactful. Having content ready to go during this busy season will pay dividends. 

Sharing the importance of gratitude and with your board members is also critical to success. One of my favorite ways to engage board members in fundraising is through involving them in thanking donors. For many members, this type of activity is more of a natural fit than solicitation. 

Have you been able to put any of these tips into practice since I first shared them? Please reach out and let me know your success stories.