Fundraising Tip: Thanks For Giving Day
Imagine a day for you and your board to do one thing – thank your donors.
I had been leading a nonprofit fundraising team for just over a year when the idea of creating an opportunity for our board members to have a bigger role in thanking those who support us came to me.
In fundraising, you know, and hear it all over the place, the importance of thanking donors.
“Thank before you bank”.
Thanking is part of the process of building a relationship with the donor.
And fundraising is about relationships.
Thanking a donor is part of the process to build the opportunity for a donor to donate again.
I thought about a gathering of board members at which they could contact donors and personally thank them for their donations. They would not ask for a donation, only thank the donor. This would also give the board members a chance to be part of fundraising.
This is when Thanks for Giving Day was born. I chose the Thursday before Thanksgiving Day (in the US). I thought this would be a great time to reach out to donors, before the hecticness of the holidays, and perhaps the time those donors make their annual donation to an organization.
In November 2009, several board members joined our fundraising team to call donors. As part of my original thinking, there would be no asking for a donation, only saying thank you to the donors for their support of our mission.
Several board members joined us for our first Thanks for Giving Day.
I watched as a board member began a conversation with a donor, a big smile on their face. The donor was surprised to receive a call from a board member.
Most donors have never received a call from a board member.
The next year, more board members joined to make phone calls.
Thanks for Giving Day grew. As I shared our success with the event, other nonprofits began doing their version of it.
By 2014, Thanks for Giving Day had become an important part of the fundraising plan for the organizations I worked with. That year we had almost 100% participation by board members, with four hours of phone calls to hundreds of donors.
We served a taco bar so everyone had something to eat, and invited board members to bring their favorite drink.
We provided a script.
I watched a board member speak with a donor for 20 minutes. Imagine what that relationship is going to be like now.
I watched board members share about their calls, with an excitement that made me excited.
“Did you know this person donates because of this?!” a board member asked me.
Board members became part of our work. It was wonderful seeing this.
The benefit of Thanks for Giving Day goes beyond donor relationships. It’s become an opportunity for board members, staff, and now even people who have benefitted from the nonprofit, to get to know each other and feel part of fundraising efforts for the organization.
Many board members are uncomfortable with fundraising, or even calling people, but have loved participating in Thanks for Giving Day.
Since the first Thanks for Giving Day, it has become different than the first day. In areas like Los Angeles, where it is not easy to get together for something like this, board members use their cell phones and call from their homes or offices. Some nonprofits have found it beneficial to do a Thanks For Giving week instead of one day, giving their board members more chances of having available time to make phone calls.
As many nonprofits only have an email address for donors, Thanks For Giving Day now includes board members sending emails rather than making phone calls. This also works for that board member who doesn’t want to make a phone call, even when it is just to say thank you.
Thanks for Giving Day can become an impactful way for your nonprofit to grow relationships with your donors, board members, and beyond.
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Take a risk. Be of service. Support your friends and colleagues. Be kind.
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