Charities – Say Thanks Quickly!

This past Wednesday marked Arizona Gives Day. Many states have initiated this type of annual, state-wide fundraising program. In Arizona, the total raised in one 24-hour period came to $1,392,292 from 13,856 unique donors. Not bad!

Even though I make all my annual charitable gifts every December, I did my part and made donations to eight select charities. Now, guess how many thanked me right away.

Just two. One quarter. 25%. Pretty poor, eh?

That’s not to say I won’t receive a letter or email from the others in the next few days. But, the ones who were out the gate first left a very positive brand impression. It tells me that they have their act together.

Plus, they expressed themselves warmly and genuinely. Here are the two I received:

From Lead for Good, a charity dedicated to helping “individuals become great leaders who are fully equipped to drive positive outcomes and sustain the missions of their nonprofit organizations. We develop effective nonprofit leaders through learning opportunities, peer-networking, mentoring, and coaching.” (Disclosure: my friend, Karen Ramsey is the President and CEO and I sat on the board of directors for a period of time.)

A huge thank you for reaching out to support Lead for Good today!

It has been an amazing 24 hours, now at the close of April 9th, 2014, on this Arizona Gives Day, we have surpassed our goal of $1,500.00 for a total of $2,033.00.

It is with gratitude and appreciation that we thank you for making a generous donation to Lead for Good!

Your tax-deductible contributions assist us to:

Support an emerging leader to participate in a peer-networking coaching session
Cover the cost of publishing seven Lead for Good Field Guide: 7 Steps for Unleashing the Great Nonprofit Leader Within
Provides all the materials needed to facilitate a top-notch strategic planning session
Pay for a one-on-one coaching session for a nonprofit executive

Thank you for believing in us and supporting our goals to build more impactful nonprofit leadership across Arizona.

Sincerely,
Karen Ramsey, CEO Lead for Good
Board of Directors: (List of board member names went here)

And, from Jewish Family & Children’s Service in Phoenix whose mission is to “strengthen the community by offering high quality behavioral health and social services to children, families and adults of all ages, in accordance with a Jewish value system that cares about all humanity.”

Dear Elaine, (Notice the personalization.)

Thank you for giving yesterday for Arizona Gives Day! It means a lot to us that you took the time to make a gift and placed your trust in us. You are making an impact in the life of a survivor of domestic violence as she and her children start over in a new home. Safety is more than a Shelter, and we do Whatever It Takes to help our families reach safety. YOU have helped them on their road to self-sufficiency and well-being.

Appreciating you,
Jessica Green
Donor Relations Manager

The interesting thing about online donations is that technology allows charities to set up their thank-you emails well in advance. Most fundraising software enables personalization and trigger-based messaging.

So, why wait? Charities – say thanks quickly! Show your appreciation warmly, genuinely, and as soon as the software processes donations!

BTW, congrats to one of our clients, Phoenix Rescue Mission for coming in number one with the most money raised in one day. $50,666!