Episode #281
Are you showing enough gratitude to your donors?
Beth Ann Locke found herself getting caught up in the process of thanking donors. Then she realized that even though she was thanking donors, that wasn’t enough.
In this week’s episode, Beth shares what she has learned over the years that make donors feel appreciated. And as she learned, when donors feel appreciated, donors will give again and again.
If you have any stories or advice around donors feeling appreciated, please share it with everyone else. Leave a comment under the video. Thanks.
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If you have any stories or advice around donors feeling appreciated, please share it with everyone else. Leave a comment. Thanks. 🙂
Thank you dear Beth.
Don’t we all like to be appreciated for something we did big or small?!
I read a post some years back that has really stuck with me. Below are excerpts.
Daniel
7 Times Thanks!
Post Date: April 17, 2009
By Maria Fontaine
There’s a saying that you haven’t thanked a person enough until you’ve thanked them seven times. That might seem a little bit extreme to you, and perhaps seven times is a bit on the high end and won’t be necessary in every situation. But I do think we could stand to gain something from this principle of thanking others sincerely, and more than once, for the things that they do for us, their kind gestures, as well as any gifts or donations that we receive.
These people do things for us, or give us gifts, and it is important that we thank them—not just once, but sufficiently, as many times as they need to be thanked. A one-time thank you is often not enough, and doesn’t show true gratitude.
For example, you might immediately thank them verbally, then thank them again in an e-mail or card, as well as thank them again via some other method. You might even want to thank them more times in the future when you see them or interact with them, by saying something like, “Remember that time when you did X for us? We really appreciated it, and we were so thankful for your generous help.”
Here are some other practical ways that you can thank your donors and supporters:
With a handwritten thank-you card, possibly along with a gift.
Appreciate them verbally at a meeting or event, in front of others.
Present them with a plaque or certificate.
Invite them to a special event, which honors them in some way.
The point I’m making is that usually you need to thank people more than once. Some people expect it, because that’s one of the ways that you can show them that you truly appreciate what they did for you, or what they gave you. This might take a bit of getting used to, as we live pretty fast-paced lives, and some of you are not practiced in thanking someone even once for something, let alone twice or more. But it’s an area that we need to do better in—not just for donors, but with those that we live and work with as well.
It’s one of those little things that can make a big difference.
How do you exercise your “gratitude muscle”?
Thank you, Beth. An important reminder and suggestion we all should here repeatedly. and you convey it so sincerely.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to best personalise thank yous to donors during the end of financial year mad rush?
We receive thousands of donations during the last couple of weeks of the financial year (June 30 here in Australia) and are so busy taking and processing the donations that thanking the donors becomes a process and we only personalise thank yous for people donating over a certain $ amount. But I would love to do more.
You can always follow up with them with a phone call a few weeks later. Assign board members to make calls. Even though it may be weeks or even a few months later, they will undoubtedly appreciate the call — especially from a board member.
We discovered the importance of a 2 minute (or less) phone call when NEW donor made a second gift without an ask! He then told the board member (his sister) that the phone call for the second gift (she and I made it and were really excited (teary)) was much appreciated.
In short, phone calls work!