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Improving Donor Retention: How Creative Thank You’s and Cultivating an

Attitude of Gratitude Can Boost Fundraising

Claire Axelrad September 11, 2013

Twitter Hashtag - #4Glearn

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Of:

Sponsored by:

Advising nonprofits in:

• Strategy

• Planning

• Organizational Development

www.synthesispartnership.com

(617) 969-1881

info@synthesispartnership.com

INTEGRATED PLANNING

Part

Of:

Sponsored by: Part

Of:

Coming Soon

Sponsored by:

Today’s Speaker

Claire Axelrad Principal

Clairification

Assisting with chat questions: Jamie Maloney, 4Good

Founding Director of Nonprofit Webinars and Host:

Sam Frank, Synthesis Partnership

Part

Of:

How Creative Thank You’s

and an Attitude of Gratitude Can Super-

Charge Fundraising Success!

Substitute “donor” for “client.”

Then… consider a warm, genuine thoughtful thank you as a hug in an envelope.

The typical charity

loses 50 – 75% of

donors after the first

gift, and 30% annually

thereafter. Yipes!

Donors want to

change the world, but

they generally want

(and deserve)

something else too.

Cultivate an Attitude of

You’ve put in time and effort to get your donors, wouldn’t it be nice if they stuck around?

Is there any way to beat the average and get donors to stick with you for life?

Yes! One study found that increasing retention by 10% increases lifetime donor value by 200%.

But not without a gratitude plan.

Be Thoughtful

Would you believe…

a study conducted by

Charity Dynamics and

NTEN shows 21% of

donors say they were

never thanked for their

support at all! When you

send something

perfunctory and non-

personal your donor may

fail to notice. You’ll leave

no impression.

Channel Miss Manners Donors are people. Stop treating them as transactions.

Just like grandma when she sends you a gift, donors want to know how much it meant to you. Make your thanks:

Prompt

Personal

Descriptive of impact

Source: Avectra

Perfect

Polite Personal

Prompt

Think about it from the donor’s

perspective.

Even though my giving is modest, it represents a financial sacrifice for me. It’s important to me to support organizations I strongly believe in, even if I can only give an amount that probably won’t make much of a difference.

Philanthropy is about caring for others over caring about myself. Some people are motivated by the tax deduction, I suppose, but I think that they are missing the real meaning of giving.

Giving is something that, for me, is done with no expectation of anything in return. A simple thank you is more than enough.

Giving is a habit that needs to be modeled for us when we are very young, practiced and improved as we live our lives, and encouraged in our children. Nothing satisfies me more as a mom than seeing my own kids get involved in causes they care about – especially when I care about them too.

Respond to the why; not just the what.

I feel a moral obligation to contribute to programs that assist those in need, even if it means temporarily going without myself. We should all be in this together.

I actually gave more money last year than I realized…and often more than I could afford. I don’t regret it, though. I would like to give even more if I could.

Sometimes I feel taken for granted by not-for-profits that we have been supporting for a long time; so I was elated when someone called to express their gratitude for the gift I quietly make to them every month.

As a young professional, I am looking for not-for-profits that I can engage with and grow with in more than one way. I especially appreciate the ones that want more than just my money. The ones that also value my participation are rare, but those that do get my support.

A word about technology. Think!

Use it; don’t abuse it.

E-thanks are swell; just don’t stop there. Your donor deserves more than a pro-forma receipt.

Be careful! Automation can produce some funky results.

Have first names?

Using a program that inserts that name multiple times?

Don’t use the canned receipt language that may come with your email provider.

Do get creative with videos, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.

BASICS: Policies & Procedures

Send within 48 hours.

Align the thank you to the appeal.

Reinforce what may be important to the donor.

Review for personalization opportunities.

BASICS: Perfect Thank You Letter

Catchy opening; no jargon.

Tell a story to illustrate how gift will be used.

Invite involvement.

One signer.

P.S.

Perfect inserts.

10 Creative Ways to Rock Your

Donor Acknowledgment

Tried and True 1. Phone calls

2. Handwriting

3. Personal notes

4. Different signers

5. Thankathon

Dare to Try 6. Greeting cards, e-greetings, post

cards

7. Token gifts

8. Snapshots

9. Videos

10. Public recognition

Wow!

Pow!

Tried and True 5 Thank you strategies that have proven effective

1.Call people!

Donors who were called gave 39% more next time.

14 months later they gave 42% more

Even though you probably can’t call all of your donors, selecting just a few to call each week can have a huge impact.

Who to target will be different for every organization.

Who makes the call will vary by organization and segment.

Don’t delay the call.

You want folks to remember you’re the one they gave to!

Questions about thank you calls

A Call is a Terrible Thing to Waste

After the call make a

record.

Don’t make it a ‘chore.’

Be warm, gracious and personal – a

verbal bouquet

Revel in the reflected

glow. Channeling an attitude of gratitude

makes everyone happy.

Tried and True More thank you strategies that have proven effective

2. Handwritten

Pick a group.

Add a note.

3. Personal notes

Spontaneous.

Yet a habit.

How do I heart thee?

Let me count

the ways.

Tried and True More thank you strategies that have proven effective

4. Different signer

Someone helped.

Program director.

Volunteer

5. Thankathon

Pure.

Gets volunteers

feet wet.

All signers are

not equal.

Dare to Try 5 Fun thank you strategies to delight your donors

1. Greeting card, e-greeting or post card to mark important

events

in your donor’s personal

calendar

in your donor’s relationship with your cause

holidays big and small

make something up!

We’re dancing

a jig of joy

because

you care!

Make it up! This is where to really have fun and get creative

Happy Mother’s Day!

“Thanks for all the love you’ve given us, and for nurturing this project to fruition. Wish every project had a ‘Mom’ like you.”

Happy July 26th!

“Did you know on this date in 1952 Mickey Mantle hit his first “Grand Slam?” Well, you hit one too this past year when you joined our Legacy Society. We hope you’ll wear your ‘mantle’ proudly. Thank you so much.”

“You hit it out of the ballpark

for us. Thank you!”

Dare to Try More fun thank you strategies to delight your donors

2. Token Gifts

Creative; thoughtful

3. Snapshots

your work; your clients; your donors at events; your volunteers

4. Videos pinterest.com/charityclairity

/gratitude-nonprofits-say-thanks

I’ve brought you some home- baked cookies – just to say THANKS and tell you you’re awesome!

Dare to Try More fun thank you strategies to delight your donors

5. Public Recognition

Say something positive about your

donor in front of someone they admire

Write a story about your donor

Publicly honor your donor

Send a group email acknowledging your donor in front of others.

Send a tweet acknowledging your donor’s awesomeness

Pin photos of your awesome supporters onto a special Pinterest board (e.g., “Star Supporters,” “Extra Mile Donors,” “Razoo Raisers”).

How to Move from Transactional to

Transformational Donor Acknowledgement

Consider who might appreciate a thoughtful, unexpected thank you at some point during the year

1st-time donors

monthly donors

long-term donors

gift club members

Volunteers

Staff

Vendors

Clients

Community professionals

What are some timely themes around which to build creative thank you’s that are relevant to your constituents?

Holidays – the regular; the quirky

Events in the life of your organization

News events related to your mission

Thank You is Contagious

You can’t say it too often. Layer it on!

Thankees help thankers.

Thankees help others.

He may be catching

a case of the

thank you’s