Communicate!

Helping you win loyal friends through your communications

Which Season’s Greetings?

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Sending holiday greetings to your supporters and community is a great way to let them know you’re thinking of them. But not everyone celebrates the same holidays.

chanukahYes, in the U.S. most people  celebrated Thanksgiving Thursday, November 24. But you may have some Canadians on your mailing list, and their Thanksgiving was was on the second Monday of October. Did you know?

In December, the Jewish holiday of Chanukah begins the night of Saturday, December 24 and continues through January 1. But for Jews, “the holidays” means the Rosh Hashanah–Yom Kippur–Sukkot–Simchat Torah set of holidays, and those all happened in  October this year!

Pagans celebrate Yule beginning December 21. Christians celebrate Christmas beginning with Christmas Eve on December 24 and continuing through the next day. And New Year’s Day is January 1, but for the many religions and cultures that use other calendars, it may be just another day.

They may be hurt if you wish them A happy holiday, but not theirs. Share on X

How do you greet them all?

Ideally, you keep a record of which holiday each person on your list celebrates. Then, you send personalized email to each one.

If you haven’t kept those records, now would be a good time to start! In the meantime, feel free to cut and paste the body of this message into your email and social media. Add, “To all our friends who celebrate these holidays, we send our warmest greetings.”

Who’s looking forward to Groundhog’s Day?

How to Share the Season’s Greetings

by Leave a Comment

Sending holiday greetings to your customers and community is a great way to let them know you’re thinking of them. But not everyone celebrates the same holidays.

thanksgiving

Yes, in the U.S. most people  celebrated Thanksgiving this past Thursday, November 26. But you may have some Canadians on your mailing list, and their Thanksgiving was was on the second Monday of October. Did you know?

In December, the Jewish holiday of Chanukah begins the night of Sunday, December 6 and continues through December 14. But for Jews, “the holidays” means the Rosh Hashanah–Yom Kippur–Sukkot–Simchat Torah set of holidays, and that happened in September and October this year!

Pagans celebrate Yule beginning December 21. Christians celebrate Christmas beginning with Christmas Eve on December 24 and continuing through the next day. And New Year’s Day is January 1, but for the many religions and cultures that use other calendars, it may be just another day.

They may be hurt if you wish them A happy holiday, but not theirs. Share on X

How do you greet them all?

Ideally, you keep a record of which holiday each person on your list celebrates. Then, you send personalized email to each one.

If you haven’t kept those records, now would be a good time to start! In the meantime, feel free to cut and paste the body of this message into your email and social media. Add, “To all our friends who celebrate these holidays, we send our warmest greetings.”

Who’s looking forward to Groundhog’s Day?

20 Ways to Thank Your Donors Throughout the Year

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thanksgivingIf you’re a nonprofit, every day is Thanksgiving…or should be.

Yes, I know it’s been months since your last appeal.  You sent a thank-you letter to each donor back then.  (In fact, maybe you sent the ideal thank-you letter.)  But have you been ignoring them since then?

You neglect donors at your peril.  Donors notice when and how often you’re in touch.  If they say, “That organization only writes me when they want money!”, how likely are they to respond the next time?

Have you heard the rule that you should thank a donor seven times before asking him or her for money again?  Maybe you wondered how in the world you’re supposed to do that.  How many ways can you say thank you?

Here are 20 creative ideas for showing your gratitude, courtesy of our friends at Lifehack.

  1. Make a gift bag. It doesn’t have to be expensive–just personal.
  2. Give a toast. You don’t need a special event–you could do this over lunch. Make a video and send it to the donor.  Picture the smile when they see it!
  3. Write a poem. Say why they deserve your thanks.
  4. Send them custom gift labels.
  5. Give a gift card. (Get the gift card donated, too.)
  6. Send a hand-written letter.
  7. Use social media to give thanks in public.
  8. Make your own digital greeting card.
  9. Make a Youtube video.
  10. Bake cookies.
  11. Make surprise gifts for guests at your events.
  12. Put together a flower basket.
  13. Take a picture. Again, it doesn’t have to be professional, just unique.  The camera on your phone can capture priceless moments!
  14. Pay it forward.  Show them you care about what they care about too.
  15. Do something special for them.
  16. Help them when they’re the ones who need help.
  17. Be there for them.
  18. Listen to them.
  19. Say it another language…especially if they speak it.
  20. Show them some #donorlove, without being asked.

You can’t do all twenty for all your donors. Fine.  But which ones can you do?  Make a plan to say thank you to as many of your donors as you can, each month.  When annual appeal time comes around again, they’ll think of you as a friend.

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