Thank your donors!

You worked hard to get each donation. Now use that donation to build a relationship bringing the donors close to the cause and the organization, starting with thanking your donors.

It is incredibly important to build a connection with donors as nonprofits tend to lose about half of their annual donors. Moreover, current and lapsed donors are much more likely to donate again. You actually have very slim chances of securing a donor from a prospective even though it takes considerably more time to attract new donors!

There are many ways to say “THANK YOU.” But to make the thank you meaningful, there are a couple of things to consider. Thinking of your donor and their desires will make your thank you more considerate and appreciated. Remember those audience personas? This is another example of messaging that matches those personas. Some donors may wish to remain anonymous, others may want public recognition, some may want a special token, others may lean toward the digital. Major donors do not tend to appreciate gifts, but big contributors tend to like special access. If you don’t know why your donors donate or what their passions are, this is an opportunity to learn more about them! Create donor events and talk to them! Be creative!

Remember that donors donate because of their passion and goals. Your thank you should remind them what your organization is doing with the funds, with specific mention of a particular program that might interest them specifically. Don’t be overly focused on the organization though, or they might not feel their contribution is part of the process. Thank you notes could also apprise them of milestones or steps on the process. Thank you notes should inspire them and make them feel like part of the journey. Most importantly, the thank you should appreciate the donor and your relationship, as well as express how much the organization values them as part of the team or community.

Don’t delay your thank you, either! While a donor management system can immediately send a thank you, a personalized thank you note should be sent within a week (software can help you with reminders as well as sending personalized notes based on personas), but definitely within 90 days. Delayed communication suggests that you don’t value them as much as you say you do. Make thank you notes a priority. After the original thank you, you should also keep donors apprised of the programming and process throughout the year, but at least once more, such as the anniversary of the gift or at the end of the project.

Thank you notes can be creative and remember that they help the organization retain donors! You could send them a welcome packet that includes stories, photos, etc; actual paper or digital cards for birthdays, anniversary of gifts, and cards could be designed by staff or recipients or handwritten cards (this can be purchased online); videos of work being done; party invites, including donor only events; social media shout outs, newsletters with donor lists or profiles, or digital photo books. There are so many ideas!

Thank you notes need to be personal and thoughtful, but they don’t need to take considerable time. Using the proper software and managing content properly, can make the process easier through automation. The process is about stewardship, and will be rewarding in the long run!