We all know that stewarding your donor relationships is a basic tenet of fundraising and good nonprofit management. As we look to celebrate Valentine’s Day, another way to say it may be, “when your donors show you some love, it’s important to love them back!” Everyone wants to feel appreciated and receive some sort of acknowledgement, not only that their gift was received, but that it will make a positive impact on your mission.
Donor acknowledgement is especially important during busy seasons of giving such as North Texas Giving Day, Giving Tuesday, or after a year-end campaign. It is estimated that nonprofits generate one-fifth of their annual revenue in December, with the busiest days of giving being December 30-31. That translates to many gifts from many donors during a time that is already busy with holiday celebrations, time out of the office, and travel. From the donor’s perspective, that can also mean a number of form letters hitting their mailbox in January, thanking them for their gift, that are passed on to their accountant for tax season and quickly forgotten.
There is a better way that can be a lot of fun! We recently worked with a client who was using Network for Good as their online giving platform and CRM. For the major donors that had the greatest impact on their year-end campaign, they opted to take advantage of one of the most creative (and easy to use!) tools that their software had to offer – video messages. Within the CRM, the organization’s CEO was able to quickly select the donor’s record within the giving campaign, record a quick, personal, and sincere thank you message, and deliver it directly to the donor’s email inbox.
What used to sound very complicated is now incredibly easy when you have the tools available – there is no need to write an elaborate script or spend days preparing. The message can be as simple as, “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Smith, my name is Sam and I am the CEO for Nonprofit 101. I just wanted to reach out quickly and personally thank you for your gift to our year-end campaign. Your generosity is appreciated by everyone on our team and will help us to reach even more people with our programs in 2023. I hope that you’ll join us in March when we celebrate our 20 years of service in Tarrant County. Happy Holidays to you and your family!” The message does not have to be formal or include a lot of facts and figures. Sincerity is the key. Think about how you would thank that person if you were face-to-face. This is made even easier when the donor is one with whom you already have a relationship!
By acknowledging your major donors in this way (in addition to the letter that they should receive for tax purposes), you can help your organization to stand out amongst the rest and start to build (or enrich) your relationship with them. For our client that employed this tactic in January, a true “lovefest” emerged with several donors! The CRM allowed for emailed responses to the video messages and the notes that the CEO got back were overwhelmingly positive.
“Oh my goodness, what a wonderful surprise!”
“This means so much, thank you for reaching out.”
“I’m so happy to be able to give! Your programs are so special to our family, thank YOU for your great work in the community.”
“It was so great to see your sweet face!”
What tools are in your toolbox to help show your donors some love and make sure that your organization stands out above the rest? And Happy Valentine’s Day season. We love working with you!