When you’re thinking about saying thank-you to your donor–and you should be thinking about it all year round!–think about using video to do it.
Video has huge advantages. It makes your message stand out. You can use your tone of voice to express your gratitude. And after pandemic years of not seeing many people up close and personal, or seeing only their eyes and forehead and the rest being masked, the chance to see a whole human face, smiling, without risk of infection…well, that’s a gift you can give back to your donors!
You don’t have to have a slick approach and high production values to say thank you with a video. In fact, a less polished approach may come across as more sincere. Some nonprofits have done a great job with the camera on a mobile phone and an unedited take from a grateful client, staff person, or fellow donor.
Here’s how your nonprofit can get started on making its thank-you videos:
Read my simple tips and view a few good examples. TY Thursday: Say It with a Video
Go a little more in depth with Professor Jen Shang, PhD. 15 Tips & Ideas To Thank Donors With Video (Examples Included)
Get your team together. Decide: who runs the camera? Who speaks? Scripted or unscripted? Edited or unedited? What should be in the background? And, most important, what is your plan for getting the video in front of donors–either individually or en masse?
Then, do it!
I do have to admit that I’m the kind of odd duck who prefers to read a book rather than watch a movie, and I like reading the ideal thank-you letter or even the ideal email more than watching a video. Maybe you’re like me–but chances are, most of your donors are not! And this thank-you video is not for me or for you: it’s for your donors. But you can still have fun making it, and you will enjoy the reactions it gets.
It’s too late to submit your video for the Academy Awards anyway. So don’t worry, be happy–and make your donors happy too.
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