Begin every Monday and end every Friday by calling, emailing or writing notes to donors just to say thank you.
Yup. I said it- block your calendars and get to work. I'm not asking for an entire gratitude journal or a novel here. Just 20 minutes twice a week to not only remind you why you do the work you do and who is behind our success, but also time for you to focus on what's important. As much as we think donors obsess over our communications and scrutinize every effort, we're missing out on the opportunity to wow them at every turn. When's the last time you received a pure thank you that was unexpected and delightful?
I'll give you an example of unexpected and fun. I'm here in NYC at the Kimpton, my absolute favorite favorite of hotels to stay in and I go to my boring old closet to hang up my dress- BOOM! Inside the closet on the wall, I see this:
This unexpected little diddy made me laugh, made me take a photo and share and also made me think. What have you done in your fundraising life that has made a donor take a photo of it and share it with others? I can tell you it's probably not your annual report or latest solicitation. They would share the unexpected and the novel, they would share your word on genuine praise and gratitude.
When you're looking for motivation on a Monday morning and need a kick to remind you that your week wasn't so awful, motivate yourself with gratitude to donors! Go out there and thank a donor this afternoon!
I would love to hear your thoughts on how adding gratitude to your day and week routine brings you joy!
Cheers,
Lynne
Lynne -- I so love this idea of 20 minutes twice a week. It is a great way to start and end your week. Our development office does "Thankful Thursday" - every Thursday at 11 am our team gets together to write thank you cards to donors, volunteers, etc. Sometimes we will even send a special card from the whole team. I love handwritten notes and have personally started doing them once a week for my friends and family. I take 10 minutes on Friday to write a special note and then send them out.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful workplace! Keep up the fabulous work!
DeleteWe write hand written notes to first time donors. I try to write five notes each morning. I failed miserably this week. Determined to do better next week! Thanks for the reminder. And oh, for the record, I HAVE lived in Duluth and love that town. Hey Woody, it's in Minnesota.
ReplyDeleteLol it NYC humor so please take it with a grain of salt... great job on the Thank Yous!
DeleteThanks, Lynne, for this timely article. A group of us in advancement were just talking this week to hold a mini challenge to commit to writing at least one thank you letter every day. And to hold each other accountable by writing the names of the people we contact to share the following month at our regular DR meeting.
ReplyDeleteNice! Love the accountability among peers!
DeleteA design-minded co-worker recently designed an awesome postcard for me to print and use -- I've now scheduled 20 minutes at the beginning and end of each week to put them to good use! Thanks for the idea. :)
ReplyDeleteIsn't it wonderful to have teammates who can help us make life a little easier!
DeleteI write all of our donors handwritten thank you notes and it works out to about 3-5 a day. It takes up some time, but you are so on point - it reminds me why I do what I do, and it makes for a good start to my day knowing I might make someone's day with my note. I recommend the practice!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful thing Krystina! So glad to hear you're putting it into daily practice!
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