Could you imagine a situation where one of your most dedicated and generous donors gives your organization a gift… and you never acknowledge or thank them?
That would never happen, right?
But it’s happening accidentally more and more often…
More and more donors are giving gifts through Donor Advised Funds (DAFs). Because the gift is often labeled as from “Fidelity Charitable” or “Network for Good” (or something similar), the donor who initiated the gift mistakenly goes un-acknowledged and un-thanked.
You might remember that a few years ago, when Twitter was still Twitter, there was an account called The Whiny Donor.
Whiny was a gift to the nonprofit world because she Tweeted what other donors were thinking but not saying.
And Whiny had some experience with DAF giving…
Yikes!
Another gem…
Whiny has since stopped Tweeting, but what she experienced as a DAF donor is still too common.
And here’s the thing… if this is happening to your donors, most of them won’t complain. They’ll simply stop giving because they start to feel like their giving doesn’t matter.
That’s why it’s so important to thank and steward your DAF donors.
As you’re looking at year-end reports, make note of any gifts that came from a Donor Advised Fund (DAF) like Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, Vanguard Charitable, Network for Good, or any community foundation. Double-check to make sure the donor who initiated the gift was thanked.
If you’re unsure whether a DAF donor has been thanked, reach out with a phone call, a handwritten note, a personal email thanking them for their kind and generous gift — I’m sure you would put a smile on your donor’s face.
Donors who give through DAFs are some of your org’s most faithful donors. You can stand out from the crowd by doing an excellent job of thanking and stewarding them when they give through their DAF.
