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TY Thursday: Nonprofits, Thank by Offering Help

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Help from my friendsIn the nonprofit world, we talk about our donors as “friends of” our organization. But when they hit a rough patch, do we act like friends to them?

Think about what you do for your personal friends when they fall sick, or lose their jobs, or have a death in the family. Do you:

  • Send a card, or flowers?
  • Cook a meal and drop it by?
  • Do something nice for their kids?
  • Refer them to good doctors, or employers, or other helping professionals?

There’s no reason our nonprofits can’t do that too.

How Nonprofits Can Offer Help

Sending a get-well card to a donor who is seriously ill is a gesture that’s always appreciated. Make sure to have people sign it personally–as many people who know the donor as possible!

Sending a sympathy card also matters, a lot. I can tell you that from personal experience. When my brother died in October 2014, clients and colleagues reached out to my wife and me, and every one of them made us feel surrounded by love.

(Be careful with flowers, however. Some people are allergic, and it’s not a Jewish custom. Sending a food tray might be better. Ask someone who knows the mourners well–and find out if they keep kosher, or halal, or eat only vegetarian or vegan food, too. You want to give them something that actually helps!)

If you have a program for children, then it’s a natural to offer the children of the donor’s family a free pass, or transportation, to do something fun for them. Adults need time to themselves sometimes, and that’s a gift you can give the whole family.

And you or a partner organization may be able to give your donor legal advice, or healthcare, or assistance accessing the legal, health, housing, or food benefits they need. The anti-poverty agency where I used to work did just that for a longtime donor and for a friend of a Board member.

What Not to Do

When a longtime friend of your organization is having a hard time, that’s the wrong time to ask them for money. If common decency isn’t enough reason for you to check your campaign calendars and take people recovering from surgery or people in mourning off your list for once, think of this: do you want people to think of their loved one’s death every time they think of you?

If the donor is really a “friend of” your organization, then treat him or her like a friend.

 

Thank-You Thursday: Make It Personal

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donor impact

Tell a story to show the difference the donor made

Previously, I told you how Global Giving made me decide to renew my donation for Nepal earthquake relief, only one week after I first gave. They won me by telling me the impact my donation is already making.

I’m a junkie for that feeling of making a difference! And I’m not alone.

One of the biggest reasons donors renew their support for your organization is that you tell them what difference their donation makes. And one of the biggest reasons they stop supporting you is that you don’t tell them what you did with their gift (and all the good that happened as a result).

But what’s the best way to make the impact of their donation seem real?

Making the Impact Personal

Northeastern University told my friend Amy Wyeth the impact her donation made. Or more exactly, Nicole Bourque told her.

Nicole is a Northeastern student who dreams of becoming a Physician Assistant. She called Amy on the phone, thanking her for her donor renewal. She followed up with an email, and told Amy her story.

“I grew up in a small town in southern New Hampshire, where people watch out for one another,” Nicole said. At the university, she was president of a student body that drew attention to the ways our health system serves some people better than others. In her career, Nicole plans to bring primary medical care to communities that don’t have enough healthcare.

Nicole thanked Amy personally for the chance to attend the university.

Without the financial support of donors like you, many of the scholarships I received would not exist. And I would not have been able to pursue my education here.

Amy was impressed. Wouldn’t you be? Here is a real person, feeling the impact of Amy’s donation right now, and thanking her. What better proof could a donor ask for that their gift was making a difference?

Don’t Wait for Next Year

It’s always a good time to thank people for their gifts–and it’s always a good time to start working for donor renewal. Tell personal stories that show impact when you:

  • Automatically acknowledge an online gift
  • Send a thank-you letter within a week of the donation
  • Send a welcome series of emails following the initial donation
  • Publish your newsletter
  • Post to social media
  • Meet your donors face to face

What’s the best story you know that shows donors how they’re making a difference?

TY Thursday: Here’s To You, Generous Donor!

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toasting

Raise a glass to…your donor

What do we do at weddings to make the bride and groom feel extra special? We make a toast.

What can you do to make your donors feel extra special? Raise a glass and toast their generosity. (And you don’t have to wait for a party to do it!)

Salute & Say Thanks

The essence of a toast is not the liquid you drink. It’s the words you say.

A toast lets people know that you believe they’ve done a great thing. You’ve taken the time to be there and the thought to put together your speech. Both your time and your thoughtfulness lift the occasion out of the ordinary…and honor the person you’re saluting.

A toast shows that you know the person you’re honoring. That’s why the best man, the maid of honor, and the parents are logical choices to give toasts at weddings: they know what the bride or groom likes, and they have revealing stories to tell. The more you know about your donor, the better you can be at thanking them.

A toast reaffirms a relationship. When you speak publicly about what the donor has done, in a way that shows you value them as a person, you make them feel closer and more loyal to you in return.

That’s why, even if your organization is alcohol-free and you raise a glass of sweet tea instead, a toast is a unique way of thanking your donors.

Don’t Wait for the Gala!

Between the time you receive the gift and the time you hold an event, it might be months. Like a glass of bubbly that sits out on the counter, your toast might lose some of its savor if you wait that long. It will still be sweet, but a lot of the fizz will go out of it.

You don’t have to wait. Take out your camera and make a one-minute video toasting your donor. Then, post it on your website. Or send it through your social media.

If you think the donor is shy, email it to them. They will probably still share it with their family and the people closest to them.  They may even take it out and play it again from time to time, just for themselves. Like a wedding video.

 

 

You should plan to thank your donors throughout the year. But how? Every Thursday, I’ll share a different idea. Follow TY Thursday!

 

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