Many of your major donors made a significant donation at the end of 2016. If your organization is like most, some of your major donors feel like you haven’t Thanked or Reported back to them what happened because of their generous gift.
If you find yourself in this situation, and you feel bad for not being as proactive and appreciative as you should have been, don’t worry. It’s not too late!
Now is the time to make sure you ‘close the giving loop’ with your major donors. If you do this, they will be far more willing to make a significant gift in 2017!
Here’s what I suggest you do:
- If you don’t know who your top 30 donors are, then make a list right now!
- Identify when their last gift was and then see if you promptly Thanked them and ever Reported back to them.
- For your donors who were not properly Thanked or Reported to, create a plan to do so in the next 7 days.
- Pick up the phone, write a thank you note, send a picture of a completed project, etc. The work you do now to close the loop with your donors will pay big dividends later this year when you need to ask them again for a significant gift.
Don’t wait to work this plan. Your donors deserve your proactive attention and communication.
