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TY Thursday: Thank YOU, Nonprofits!

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Thank you.

My regular readers (whom I appreciate!) will know that on Thursdays, I’ve been giving advice to nonprofits on how to express their “attitude of gratitude” to their donors. Thank-yous can go far beyond a letter. They can include videos, gifts, and even acts of kindness that make the donor feel you are truly grateful and truly friends.

You can see all those TY Thursday posts by clicking on the link.

Today, I’d like to turn it around. Instead of advising you on how to thank your donors, I want to send you my thanks.

I’m Grateful to You, Nonprofits

Thank you to the nonprofits that help my neighbors meet basic human needs.

Thank you to the nonprofits that help people worldwide appreciate art and literature.

Thank you to the nonprofits that give free legal advice to people in a jam.

Thank you to the nonprofits that work to change policy so people won’t need legal advice so often.

Thank you to the grassroots groups that are mainly friends and neighbors with a 501(c)(3).

Thank you to the huge corporations with big budgets and complex organizational structures who don’t forget that they’re there on a mission.

Thank you to the nonprofit organizations (called synagogues) that gave me my Jewish education, a place to worship in community, and a way to continue the 4,000-year-old tradition that has shaped my life.

Thank you to the nonprofit organizations (called universities) that changed the way I think and taught me life lessons, inside and outside the classroom.

To the people who spend their days working hard for these agencies, way beyond what nonprofits can ever afford to pay them to do, thanks!

To the people who spend their evenings and weekends volunteering for these agencies, whether they lick envelopes, serve meals, or serve on the Board, thanks!

To the receptionists, the face of each organization…

the frontline staff, who see the faces of the people they serve…

the interns passing through, who may remember their time there life long…

the Executive Directors, carrying too much weight on their own shoulders…

and especially, to the fundraisers and communicators who make sure that donors hear about the great difference the work of your organization makes (as I did), and become grateful (as I have), so they continue to support you with their creativity, time, and money…THANK YOU.

I know for many of you, life is about to get harder–again–as it did during the Great Recession only eight years ago. Please know that every day, I will be thinking of you.

It’s your job to thank the donors, and I will keep on sending you tips on how to do it well. But once in a while, you deserve some appreciation too. Thank you. And you’re welcome.

TY Thursday: Thanking Donors is Good for Your Health

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Dennis with mask

How are you feeling, reader? I hope you’re safe at home, and keeping your distance while wearing a mask when you go out.

If you show symptoms of the coronavirus, don’t be bashful, call your doctor. If you need food, or other help, don’t be shy, call your neighbor. We can help one another.

There’s one other thing you can do to stay healthy, and it may surprise you.

Thank your donors.

Saying thank you is good for your mental health Share on X

A lot of people aren’t used to working from home. Seeing the same four walls every day. Being cooped in with family, and being kept out of our usual social communities. Doing everything online.

In these circumstance, it’s not selfish–it’s vital–to do things that make us feel happy. Mental health boosts our immune systems, and gratitude helps renew and replenish our mental health.

As reported in Inc. magazine, “A team of researchers out of Indiana University led by Prathik Kini recruited 43 subjects suffering from anxiety or depression. Half of this group were assigned a simple gratitude exercise — writing letters of thanks to people in their lives — and three months later all 43 underwent brain scans.”

The results?

The participants who’d completed the gratitude task months earlier not only reported feeling more gratefulness two weeks after the task than members of the control group, but also, months later, showed more gratitude-related brain activity in the scanner.

And their attitude of gratitude is linked with happiness, optimism, calmness, willpower, and other psychological benefits.

“Something as simple as writing down three things you’re grateful for every day for 21 days in a row significantly increases your level of optimism, and it holds for the next six months. The research is amazing,” Harvard researcher and author Shawn Achor told Inc.com.

Be good to yourself: say “thank you”

Writing thank-you letters is a way to express gratitude. We know donors want it. We know nonprofits benefitHappy grateful from it. And now, we know it’s a work task you can carry you that will actually be good for you.

So, why not try it? Write three thank-you letters every day for the next twenty-one days. You’ll be making your outlook brighter AND making donors feel appreciated. A happy result!

TY Thursday: Because of You

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My friend Joan reads this blog religiously, and she’s always on the lookout for nonprofits that are taking my advice. Here’s a thank-you email that Joan has shared with us all.

It’s not an ideal thank-you.

  • The “On behalf of” opening line is a waste of words.
  • The sentence that includes both donors and people who included the organization in their prayers shows that they don’t know which group she belongs to–they haven’t segmented their list.
  • And as Joan notes, the idea that she has made this particular nonprofit “a priority” is a sign that they don’t know her very well yet.

Four things make this TY stand out:

  1. The From: line is personal. It’s a message from a particular person, not an organization or, even worse, an auto-answering program.
  2. The photo is personal. It puts a face to the name, so Joan can picture Ralph McCloud saying the words that follow, directly to her.
  3. The salutation is personal. It says “Dear Joan,” not “Dear Friend.”
  4. The message is personal. “What a blessing you are to us” is the kind of thing one Catholic would say to another. By repeating that message in the Subject line, in the photo, and in the body of the email, Catholic Mobilizing Network emphasizes what Joan and Ralph and CMN have in common.

Over all, the message has a recurring motif: “Because of you.”

CMN is working hard to make Joan the hero of the story. In your thank-you letters and emails, are you telling your donors “because of you”?

Blessing you are to us

Dear Joan,

On behalf of Catholic Mobilizing Network’s Board of Directors, I want to say thank you.

Whether you supported CMN financially this Christmas season, or included us in your intentions and prayers, it is because of you that CMN is able to thrive in its mission to end the death penalty and promote restorative justice.

What a blessing you are to us.

We live in a time where it seems like human dignity is under attack on many fronts. As a community of believers, we are called to respond with justice and mercy. But this can be a challenging commission, especially when our time, energy, and financial capacity are all stretched thin.

I know there are a lot of worthy causes out there; that is why I am grateful that you have made CMN a priority in your end-of-year giving.

Your support of CMN affirms your bold commitment to upholding the human dignity of all people — including even those who might have caused or suffered great harm.

Because of you, CMN is able to pursue a criminal legal system that values life, hope, and healing. And for that, I am deeply grateful.

Thank you,

Ralph McCloud, Treasurer
CMN Board of Directors

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