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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

Your quick and easy solution to donor retention

Donor retention? I’m sure you’ve been hearing all about donor retention lately. It’s a hot topic in fundraising circles –especially now. And thanks to a bad economy, we’ve learned to pay more attention to the donors we already have. So is there a quick and easy solution? So you probably know the sad truth: most […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: donor retention, relationships Leave a Comment

Listen to your grandma

Listen to your grandma… she knows about proper thanks. I’ve written a few times about poorly done thanks or solicitations, so I wanted to write about a thank you we recently received that did it right. But instead of my response, let me offer my husband’s. He’s not a fundraiser so he’s probably a better […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: donor retention, thank you letters Leave a Comment

Real friends – a valentine

Back in the old days before Facebook or Twitter, people met and talked (and argued) on message boards. It was on a message board that I met a group of women. I’ve now known these women for almost fifteen years. We moved together from board to board and eventually to Facebook. We know each other’s […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donors, Thanks Tagged With: Donors, Facebook, Friendship, relationships, Social media, Twitter Leave a Comment

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