You Had Me at Thank You
He spent so much time, money, and social and emotional capital, but the reward was a big fat… meh. 🤨
I enjoyed chatting with a fundraising and donor relations podcaster this morning. As I shared some of the most common stories from my research, he dove in with a supporting story of his own.
Last year a non-profit that my new podcast friend had just gotten involved with hosted its annual gala, so he threw himself into bringing in the donations. The result? He raised far, FAR more money than anyone else attending the gala. He felt great about his contribution, that is…until the event. During the event, one person said a very quick, very standard thank you, but that’s it. No one else said anything. No follow-up card, email, call, or even a “thanks to you, we can now do some more wonderful things.”
Now it’s time to start the fundraising process again, and this super-star fundraiser is backing away from the job.
Everyone wants to know their contribution is valuable, and we can’t leave this experience to chance.
Our participants, contributors, and volunteers need a thank you. And the size of the thank you needs to be commensurate with the effort expended.
Here are some keys to thanking your members, attendees, speakers, writers, exhibitors, and volunteers who go above and beyond.
Many thank yous are better than none - don’t worry about duplicating efforts. It’s okay, great even, to receive thank yous from a few people.
Better done than none - do you keep putting off the thank you’s because you want to write a multi-paragraph recap? It’s okay to zip off a two-sentence email because the recipient will appreciate that more than never hearing from you.
Consider public recognition - public recognition helps peers know to congratulate the person you are thanking. And it sends a powerful signal that participants, contributors, and volunteers are valued.
Who might appreciate a thank you from you today?
