Tis the season of year end giving! And you must earn the right to receive by being prepared to thank donors and really honor their gifts. I know you want to. You try to get to it. Then some other competing priority sneaks up on you. You feel like you can’t do everything you need to do. But you know that the donors to your nonprofit are deserving of your gratitude. You really appreciate them for investing financially in your work that is changing lives.

But how can you do it?

Whether you’re a big, established nonprofit, or a small one with only a few staff and a handful of volunteers, set up a simple system in advance of your year-end campaign so it’s not so chaotic when you’re in the thick of it. It can work for you. Others are doing it and they are no smarter or less busy than you. They have just chosen to direct their energy where they know it will benefit the organization ….and therefore the mission.

So here is some help – some simple ways to make the magic happen. (Assumption: you are automatically sending thank you letters and adding these supporters to your newsletter list, at a minimum).

You will be able to show your sincere gratitude and have those donors wanting to support you for years to come!

1. Take 12 pictures. You may not be a professional photographer but you can ask a volunteer to take pictures of your mission in action. Of people. Not far away, but closer. Choose the best 12 and send them off to an online vendor that will create a calendar for you. Because you don’t have time to deal with the details. Print whatever number your budget will allow – send these fabulous calendars to your most precious 20 or 50 or 100 donors just to thank them for being part of your circle of friends. They will be reminded of your mission every day. For 365 days. Nice.

2. Trot out the leadership. That’s right. Let your Executive Director and/or Board President know you need 15 minutes of their time four times a year. Use a camera or a phone with good video quality (no need for fancy equipment here). Ask your ED or Board President to share a story, accomplishments, new project coming up –whatever is an effective nugget or two that will appeal to your donors – something that will show you are using their money the way you said you would, highlighting your community impact (you may need to provide a few talking points; not every leader was born for this). Then email the link to the video out to your donors, post it on your social media sites and website, and voila! This will all take maybe 4 hours a year to send out a meaningful message from someone at the top.
(P.S. I’m assuming you already are showing video testimonials on your website. If you don’t have actual footage of a beneficiary of your services, your mission in action, start there).

3. Involve your donors. I know you know this but…..why aren’t you doing much of it? This is such a great way to get to know more about them and that makes you better at your job (think donor-centric). If it seems overwhelming, let’s break it down. Your donors are more likely to get further connected to your organization if you ask them to do something specific (and much more likely if you ask them personally). Stuck? Here are 10 donor engagement ideas for a variety of interests – ask them to:
* Provide tours twice a month
* Participate in a focus group
* Serve as mentor for a teen mother
* Submit articles for the newsletter
* Refer potential job candidates
* Volunteer at the open house
* Join you at an important meeting with an elected official or funder (how impressed would that funder be!)
* Introduce their friend to the Executive Director
* Fundraise in the annual campaign!
* Speak at a service club on your behalf

And don’t think you have to do all this alone! What if 5 board members, staff or other folks you know each made 5 calls to 5 different donors every month? They ask donors if they’d like to get involved and share a few options to consider. Imagine what is possible……

4. Ask the magic question. “Who else do you know that might want to know more about our organization?” Their pals could end up being volunteers, donors, staff and more! Leverage their social capital and then they have even more skin in the game. They will feel a certain responsibility – a type of ownership. And if they aren’t ready to make introductions yet, continue to involve them in other ways until the time may be right.  As you might guess, this is most effective when done face to face,  so you might consider this tactic only  for certain segments of your donors.

Your donors believe in you, and you have an obligation to be good stewards of their investments. When you show sincere gratitude, everyone benefits. Your organization will gain more ambassadors, more money, more advisors and ultimately more mission achievement.

I hope you will choose to invest in an attitude of gratitude! And let me know if you need more help.

print