The importance of thanking donors is vital to our donor cultivation programs.  Can you imagine sending a gift and not receiving a thank you note before you get a newsletter or request for more money? Be sure your donor thank you and recognition process is in place and working! Here are some ideas.

1. Send donor thank you notes within 48 hours

• Spell their name correctly J
• In addition to the electronic thank you they may receive if they contributed on line
• And while we are talking about online giving – when was the last time you updated your auto –reply thank you note? This should be updated every month with updates about the organization. Include links to social media since these donors are already “online”.

2. Where applicable – thank them for their cumulative giving to your organization

3. Decide now what level of donor will

• Receive a personal phone call from you or your Executive Director upon receipt of their gift
• Be invited to meet in person one-on-one
  Be invited to a special donor thank you event
• Receive a donor recognition gift (watch the gift value v. donation)

4. Prepare recent donor lists for Board members to call and thank

5. Add their name to your online list of donors as soon as possible

I hope you found these ideas useful.  What donor thank you or recognition ideas are you using?

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