21 Ways to Shower Your Donors with Love

You know what is an unsung holiday for loving on donors? Valentine’s Day.

You know who is not expecting to hear from you on Valentine’s Day? Your donors!

Why not surprise them with some donor love? I’ve outlined 21 ways to show you care including a spotlight on a couple of digital tools that can help make it easy and convenient to wow with a personal touch. But first I want you to know how much of an impact these seemingly small gestures can make:

• First-time donors who get a personal thank you within 48 hours are 4x more likely to give a second gift. (McConkey-Johnston International UK)
• A thank-you call from a board member to a newly acquired donor within 24 hours of receiving the gifts will increase their next gift by 39%. (Penelope Burk)
• In a database where the average number of gifts made by donors is three, a thank-you letter reaffirming the difference that their donations made increased average gifts by 60% without reducing response rate in comparison to a control group of donors who did not receive this thank-you communication. (Jen Shang)

Why does this matter so much?  

I love this explanation from Brock Warner, Manager of Development at War Child:

“One thing humans never tire of is being the recipient of honest, heartfelt gratitude. Like a timeless piece of music, gratitude has an incredibly long half-life. The opportunity to surprise and delight donors simply by saying thank you is present more often than you might think.”  

21 ways to shower your donors with love on Valentine’s Day:

Build trust fast (Prompt thanks that makes donors feel safe + seen)

Valentine’s Day is the perfect moment to remind donors: “We got your gift—and we’re grateful for you.”

1. Send them a personal thank you email: “This Valentine’s Day we wanted to take a moment to reach out to someone special. You. Thanks to you…”

2. Send your donor a video email of you, your clients, your staff and/or your beneficiaries thanking them. This does NOT have to be complicated (or cost money)! Case in point.

3. Call them to ask their opinion.

4. Host a thank-a-thon where staff & board members call to simply thank donors. Serve sweet treats and celebrate with a champagne toast. (If you can’t recruit them, do it solo!)

5. If you have their mobile number or Twitter handle, text or DM them a meaningful thanks.

6. Call out first-time donors as such in your thank you letter, i.e. “Dear John, I’m overjoyed to receive such a generous first-time gift from you and I’m thrilled to welcome you into our donor family.”

Strengthen emotional connection (Turn gratitude into a real relationship)

Go beyond “thanks” with touches that feel personal, warm, and unmistakably human.

7. Send them a letter that is written by someone whose life they’ve changed.
8. Plan a donor and volunteer appreciation party.

9. Give them shout-outs on social media. It can be directed at all donors, i.e. “How do we love #donors? Let us count the ways!” or spotlight specific donors by publicly thanking them. If permitted, share their picture with a story of what they mean to your organization or give them the chance to share why your organization is important to them.

   *Disclaimer: Make sure donors are comfortable with being addressed publicly. Get their permission before using their name or picture in any form of communication.

10. Start celebrating your donor’s “Donor-versary,” the anniversary of when they made their first gift to you with a letter honoring the longevity of their giving, i.e. “Dear John, 5 years ago you made your first gift to us. Since then you… [insert amazing accomplishment the donor made happen].”

11. Send custom videos to your donors using mobile video acknowledgments for an easy and simple to send highly personalized and completely irresistible video communications.

Invite donors deeper into the mission (More belonging, more engagement, more loyalty)

When donors feel like insiders—not ATMs—they stick around (and show up bigger).

12. Craft a donor stewardship plan if you don’t already have one. Download this sample template as a starting point.

13. Invite them to hear a guest speaker, online or in-person.
14. Allow virtual access to whatever form of annual meeting you have, be it a conference, lobby day, or jamboree.
15. Add a recurring weekly Stewardship Power Hour to your calendar where you call to thank and update donors.

16. Host a donor cultivation event. For a fresh spin on an intimate event, explore a Jeffersonian dinner.

17. Make it easy for your donors to tell others about their support by enabling social sharing icons on your donation thank-you pages.

18. Ask donors to share their love of your mission by inviting them to tell you why they support you via a social media campaign or survey.

19. Download a time-saving digital tool like the Felt app to help you craft meaningful handwritten cards without licking a stamp.

20. Add an optional comment box on your thank-you landing page to ask what inspired their gift or why they give—then personalize your thanks accordingly.
21. Depending on your relationship, make a plan to reach out on birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and/or Grandparent’s Day.

There’s no bad day of the year to show appreciation to your donors, so why not start today?

How many of my suggestions have you done in the past? How did it go for you? Let me know in the comments below!