4 obvious but oft-forgotten basics for fundraisers
- Wed, December 21 2011
- Filed under: Fundraising essentials
Once you get the gift, don’t forget the donor!
1. THANK YOUR DONORS. Always. No exceptions.
2. THANK THEM EARLY: You should thank your donors within a few days of their gift.
3. THANK THEM OFTEN: Thank your donors several times, over time, and keep reporting back on the difference they have made.
4. THANK THEM ACCURATELY: Make sure you have correctly spelled the donor’s name, stated the amount and date of the donation, included appropriate language on tax deductibility and carefully noted if the gift was made in honor of someone else.
Basic, I know. But how many donations have you made without getting this kind of treatment? Too many. Time for us to do better.
Comments
Good points Katya. What hinder so many orgs from doing these (especially number four) is a lack of infrastructure and processes. While you CAN track all your donor data on index cards, it’s not a best practice and not something that will lend itself toward speed or accuracy. The simple act of saying thank you can be made a lot easier when the data is kept neat, current and accessible.