FUNDRAISING TIPS—#4, Get & Stay Gracious: Give Donors a Good Thanking
05.04.2020
The Production Team
Get and Stay Gracious: Give Donors a Good Thanking
This post is the fourth and last in a four-part series about effective fundraising strategies for worthy causes like BRAKING AIDS® Ride. Part 1, “Get Personal: It Works” was about the willingness to share yourself with donors about why you ride. Part 2, “Get Particular: It’s Money, Not a Kidney,” focused on how you ask donors for money to support your efforts. Part 3, “Get Persistent: It’s Almost Never Too Much” discussed frequency of donor contact and which communications tools work best for what. Today’s final post is expressing gratitude to everyone who supports your efforts.
Remember to give everyone a good thanking. And yes, that was meant to be funny and suggestive, you naughty people.
Seriously, though: Expressing your gratitude to everyone who donates makes a difference. Saying thank-you also lays good groundwork for future giving from the same pool of donors. Emails are fine, and you can and should keep it short, but as with your initial solicitation, make it personal and authentic.
I usually do a two-pronged thank-you: a short email with a few ride photos and maybe an anecdote in October after the ride, followed by a print postcard mailed in November by good, old-fashioned USPS to every donor. The card is usually a ride photo of me on the front; the back is a printed thank-you with some bullet points on how much I raised individually and how much the ride raised overall that year, which I personalize with the briefest handwritten signed note to each recipient. The postcard often doesn’t get mailed until mid- to late November; a time lapse like that is fine, especially if you send a quick group thank-you in the month after the ride. I print my cards through Vistaprint, which is cheap and easy, and the entire endeavor costs me less than $100, including postage, and usually far less than that. If that’s too expensive for you, but you like the idea, consider doing a card with a group photo and messaging, and split the production cost with a handful of other rider friends.
Whatever you end up doing and when, doing something to say thank-you is always better than doing nothing. No matter how long it takes you. Donors will remember if you didn’t thank them; very few will recall what month it was when you did thank them. Better late than never.
