The 2016 fundraising season has come to an end. Your donors just gave generously at year-end and now are waiting to hear from you.
Specifically, they are wondering if their gifts made a difference. And if your organization really appreciated them.
So if you want to raise more money in the next few months you need to do a great job thanking the donors who just gave a year-end gift.
Here are my simple rules for thanking Major donors; Thank them promptly, Thank them often, and Thank them emotionally. In our experience, doing this very clearly leads to more giving.
Not only will you see an increase in giving revenue, you will see an increase in donor retention because your donors will give you more gifts and will stick around for longer.
You may need a little nudge to think of ways to thank you donors. Here are few ideas.
- Write a personalized thank you note. Send it separately from the standard receipt letter.
- Make a quick thank you video. This video can be from you directly or even better, have one of your beneficiaries say thank you to the donor. This doesn’t need to be fancy. A 20 second video from your phone will do the trick.
- Call first-time donors to your organization or donors who give their first gift of 2017.
- Send your donor a Valentines Day card. Tell them how much they are loved and appreciated.
Use these and other methods you know to thank your donors. They deserve it!
