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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

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

No thanks

Almost every day I receive an acknowledgment letter that misses the mark. We’ll call it a no thanks. But the one I received recently really offers a lesson in what not to do. Thank you fail It’s plainly generic, to begin with. Though my name and address appear on the letter, the salutation reads “Dear Friend”. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications, Thanks Tagged With: donor retention, Donors, Fundraising, Nonprofit, thank you letters, Thanks 21 Comments

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