Raise the bar (mitzvah) on your acknowledgment letters
The season of giving is the perfect time to think beyond “thanks”
I recently received a handwritten thank you note from a friend’s child, Jordan* (names have been changed to protect the young):
Dear Caren,
Thank you for the gift. I am so glad you could come to my bar mitzvah. I hope you had fun.
Thanks again,
Jordan
Ah, the bar/bat mitzvah note. The same three lines have been penned by teens for generations. Such a struggle to crank out those required sentences as an angsty 13-year-old. Though this generic three-liner is adequate for the middle school party circuit, it’s not okay for donor communications.
And yet adult versions of this one-size-fits all acknowledgment continue to proliferate our mailboxes—an astonishing amount written by those of us in the business of THANKING DONORS.
As Giving Tuesday and end-of-year campaigns ramp up—and automated acknowledgments are the norm—we need to commit to elevating our thanks beyond an adolescent gift receipt. During these few months when we are asking for and receiving a majority of our contributed revenue, we must shift our mindset from the (dare I say) clichéd season of giving to a season of gratitude—loving on the donors who make it all possible. (Better still, we should adopt an ever-present culture of gratitude; more on that in future posts.)
Okay, let’s first give credit where credit is due. Sweet Jordan has grasped some basics:
· Handwritten notes are ideal.
· Thank the gift-giver.
· Thank the gift-giver again.
And that, friends, is where his lesson in the art of thanking ends.
Consider the point of writing such notes in the first place.
Yes, yes, of course the obvious: thank the giver. But how can you think beyond “thanks”? Ask yourself these questions to help shift your focus to the unique you when saying “thank you.”
· Who is your specific audience?
· Have you expressed that you/your organization knows them and their relationship to you?
· Have you conveyed that their money is going where you said it would go?
· Will they feel confident that their gift is making an impact?
· How do you want the donor to think and feel?
· What do you want your donor to do?
· Are you acknowledging the donor and not just their gift?
· What’s next? (or does our relationship end here?)
Charitable giving is personal and emotional for donors, and your acknowledgment letter should reflect this motivation.
Remember the you.
Let’s apply these lessons to Jordan’s note:
Dear Caren,
Thank you for your thoughtful donation to Erasing the Distance in honor of my bar mitzvah. You are helping break the stigma associated with mental health conditions. I know that you are a mental health advocate, and I’m glad we share a commitment to raising awareness.
Thank you, too, for flying in to attend my service and party; it was fun to dance the hora with you!
I look forward to seeing you when my family visits Chicago this spring.
With gratitude,
Jordan
Now, I’m no fool. I hardly expect this kind of letter from a 13-year-old. But the lessons translate directly to how we acknowledge our donors.
Make it personal. The donor is the hero, and they give from the heart.
You are ready to graduate to donor-centric acknowledgment letters. Mazel tov!
Have you come across a particularly stellar (or cringe-worthy) acknowledgment letter that you’d like to share with me? Find me at carenfriedmancomms.com, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
