Our Ask An Expert series features real questions answered by Claire Axelrad, J.D., CFRE, also known as Charity Clairity. Today’s question comes from a nonprofit employee who wants advice on the best way to acknowledge gifts to build donor relationships:
Dear Charity Clairity,
Right now, I am signing and jotting a note on the acknowledgement letter for every gift made by a donor in my portfolio of roughly 1,500 donors of $1,000-$9,999, as well as prospects (event attendees/invitees, some non-donors, and others who’ve been identified through research as having good potential). These are all folks whom I am attempting to build relationships with to some degree. While I recognize it might be more effective for the signer to be someone higher up in the organization, we are all geographically spread out and, even if we weren’t, nobody else has the bandwidth to be signing these. We recently promoted someone to Senior Development Associate/Board Liaison, and I’m wondering if we could have them sign letters? This would be mostly for gifts below $1k, with the goal of giving these folks extra attention to bring them up to, and beyond the $1,000 level.
— Too Many Letters to Sign
Dear Too Many Letters to Sign,
You note your goal is to build relationships.
And the strategy you’ve outlined towards achieving this outcome is signing and jotting personal notes on acknowledgements.
Let’s break this down.
But whether this works effectively will depend on what else you do. As well as what others within your organization do. Because philanthropy facilitation is a team effort.
Ideally, everyone is part of your culture of philanthropy. Sometimes, the task of instilling this culture falls to a visionary development staffer. It begins with encouraging team members to come from a place of “love of humanity” in all their interactions – extending this both internally and externally.
The key is playing to each individual’s strengths. When they get personal, they should do so through an expression of their unique selves.
So, before assigning donor-facing, relationship-building duties to anyone, consider where their strengths lie. Are they good with people? Do they listen well. Are they curious? Would any of these adjectives apply to them: empathic, kind, generous, creative, optimistic, inspiring, collaborative, resilient?
If they don’t put their best, most authentic self into the relationship then it’s not really going to become a relationship. It will simply be a transaction. Transactions end. Relationships bloom.
It’s a mistake to get fixated on a single task (signing; note jotting) lest it become a mere transaction. One you simply check of your list, before planning ahead for the follow-through moves and touches that will result in a transformative journey for the donor – and, hopefully, for your organization as well.
Okay, let’s get to the meat of your question.
1. Prompt response. This means 48 hours for snail mail and instantaneous for email or texts sent in response to online gifts. Note, I consider this the “official” response that lets donors know their gift was received and appreciated (i.e., it didn’t go into a black hole). This does not mean a subsequent thank you, from someone else, might not be optimal (see below).
2. Handwritten signatures. Some people will actually lick their fingers to see if the ink smudges off. They want to know someone took the time to personally sign their letter. And, yes, the more important the better. Because sometimes people care that the head of the organization knows they gave.
3. Adding personal handwritten notes. These are MAGIC – so keep doing what you’re doing. To me, a thank you letter without a personal note is like a Hallmark card with nothing but a signature. It simply looks like you couldn’t be bothered to even try to connect. They’re best when you can refer back to a recent communication or meeting with the donor to show them you know them (e.g., “Great to see you at the Gala,” “Hope your daughter is enjoying college!,” “Seen any good films lately?” or “Looking forward to our coffee!”). But even something simple like “Your dedication means a lot!” or “You are our hero!” work well.
4. Adding more personal handwritten notes. Whatever you do, don’t cut back on these. You likely won’t have the bandwidth to write notes on every letter, but you can definitely do so where it’s likely to give you the biggest bang for your buck. There are two places where I’d suggest you focus:
5. Added thank you phone call. (See below)
6. Additional thank you letter or note. (See below)
1. Continue signing acknowledgements and writing brief personal notes for everyone in your current portfolio. (I’m assuming it’s mid-level, and you have someone else handling major gifts) If you have too many folks to handle, hand some off to your new Senior Associate. If there are a few who would benefit from a note from your senior leadership, select these out and ask your staff or board members what they can realistically handle.
2. Create a mid-level portfolio for your Associate (starting with donors from $500 – $999). Prioritize those who’ve made first-time gifts at this level (this is a significant initial commitment, so special treatment is warranted) and those for whom your research shows additional capacity.
3. Make prompt thank you phone calls to targeted donors. Yes, this adds to your workload. But, research shows it’s well worth it.
Having too many letters to sign is a good problem! If you can hire folks to help you, great. If not, identify others on your team who may be the right fit for this sort of task. Then, allocate a portion of their time to what I like to call your “Donor Love and Loyalty” program.
Hopefully, these tips will help you make the case to allocate more resources to this magical relationship-building strategy.
— Charity Clairity (Please use a pseudonym if you prefer to be anonymous when you submit your own question, like “Too Many Letters to Sign” did.)
How does your organization navigate stock donations? Let us know in the comments.
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