Recently I did a mini experiment, donating to twelve online mosdos ‘Charidy’ campaigns.

I wanted to see how they thanked a first time donor to their organization. The results were not so encouraging. Aside from the auto-generated ‘Thank You’ email by the platform, I received only three ‘Thank You’ emails out of twelve, from the organizations themselves!

So to be effective at thanking, step one is always to make sure you are thanking your donors! And have it come from you. Not automated from an online platform.

But, how can we say ‘Thank You’ in a way that our donors feel appreciated and want to give again? 

There are a number of parts to effective thanking. The first and biggest ‘bang for the buck’ in thanking is – SPEED.

It’s key. 

According to research by McConkey Johnson, first time donors, who received a personal thank you within 48 hours of their donation, were ‘four times’ more likely to give again! 

Adopting a ‘48 Hour’ rule, and for larger donors, even a ‘24 Hour’ rule, makes a world of difference to increasing your success when you make your next ask.  

When it comes to an online Charidy or CauseMatch campaign, there’s a simple way to equip yourself to effectively make your donors feel valued.

When you’ve received a ton of large, medium, small and new donors, the best way to manage the work load is a simple ‘Thanking Protocol.’ This means you decide up front ‘how’ you’d like to thank your large, medium and smaller donors. Each require a different amount of effort.

For example,

– Donors of $500 or more, receive a personal call asap after they make their donation and follow-up email from you within 24 hours.

– Donors less than $500 receive a thank you email within 48 hours. 

This way, you’ll make the ‘art of thanking’ something that makes each and every one of your donors feel so appreciated.

And, next time you ask, they will want to give and give again.

P.S If you intend to run a matched giving campaign in 2018 maybe I can help you?

I work in partnership with CauseMatch.com and if you reach out to me, I can guide your campaign, with my fee is included in the regular fee you pay the platform. 

Let me know if you’d like to chat to see if this could work for you.

_________________

Avraham Lewis is a fundraising mentor for Jewish leaders who want to raise more funds for their projects, more simply. See more at www.avrahamlewis.com or email avraham@avrahamlewis.com

Leave a Reply

  • (will not be published)