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Thank you. You’re wonderful.

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a Very Small Heart, it could hold a rather large amount of Gratitude.”― A.A. Milne, Winnie-the-Pooh Thank you. It’s the season for turkey and over-eating. But also, and much more filling, for gratitude. Gratitude has a way of resetting our outlook. It’s just about impossible to be truly […]

Filed Under: Blog, Thanks Tagged With: gratitude, thank you 2 Comments

Don’t break my heart.

Don’t break my heart. Remember that fundraising is always personal. You might think I’m writing about the one that got away. The donor we courted and counted on. And then disappeared. We’ve all been there, right? It’s frustrating… sometimes, it breaks your heart. But today I’m writing as a donor. And about communications that reduce […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: appeal writing, communication, donor retention, Donors, emotion, Fundraising, thank you letters 1 Comment

People, this is NOT a thank you!

People, this is NOT a thank you. This is a poorly done appeal badly disguised as a gift acknowledgment. There’s no gratitude here. And there’s no reason to give, either. Two sentences. That’s what’s spared for the donor. Fifty percent of the front page is about asking for another gift. One hundred percent of the […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: donor relations, stewardship, thank you letters 12 Comments

Say thank you like you mean it

Don’t settle for a boring, emotion-free thank you. I picked up my mail the other day and opened an envelope from a well-respected advocacy organization. It was an acknowledgment of my recent gift. And it was so disappointing! Mentally, I went through a list of failures in one letter: My husband’s name was spelled incorrectly. […]

Filed Under: Annual Giving, Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: donor retention, Donors, Fundraising, Nonprofit, thank you letters, Thanks 13 Comments

I can’t thank you enough! (Or can I?)

Can you thank someone too much? I wrote (ok, ranted) about the things I wish we fundraisers wouldn’t do. A commenter asked a question I’ve asked myself over the years. I thought I’d explore it a little further today. The question was basically “how can you say thank you to donors, over and over again, […]

Filed Under: Blog, Thanks Tagged With: donor care, donor relations, donor retention, donor-focused, gratitude, stewardship, thank you letters 10 Comments

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