Every Donor a Major Donor

One question that's always likely to come up when I teach a workshop on fund development is, "How do you define a major donor?" People ask this to determine some sort of line in how to thank and care for their donors; where to set the bar in setting aside one group of donors for "special treatment."

If that's their goal, then the answer really depends on the size of the organization, and how well-developed and successful their individual giving program is. For some organizations "major" may be those who give gifts over $25,000 or even $50,000, while for others it may be any donor who gives more than $500 or $1,000.

But one thing I try to explain to those I teach, coach, or advise, is that it is important to personally thank every donor, and that every gift - no matter how large or small - has the potential to be major to that donor. The person who is struggling themselves, but makes a personal sacrifice to send you $25 deserves at least as much thanks as the rich person who writes a much larger check to lower their tax liability.

I was reminded of this recently when my wife and I were invited to a special donor reception at our alma mater. When we opened the invitation, we looked at each other to ask, "How much did you send them!?" My wife is a public school teacher and I am a consultant to small, local nonprofits. We are not rich by any stretch, and our donations are not at all what a large university would ordinarily consider "major." We thought a mistake may have been made, but we RSVP'd anyway and went to the reception.

It was no mistake that we were on the list. There was no dollar cut-off for this thank you event. What had happened was that we had designated our gift this year to a new endowed chair in honor of one my wife's favorite professors. All early supporters at the fund's launch were invited, regardless of the size of the gift.

We attended with no more than 50 other local alumni, professors, and university staff at the Chancellor's house for a lovely afternoon with delicious snacks, wine, and a few short speeches, thank yous, and a performance from a current student. At no point during the event was there any hint of an ask. There was no fundraising that day, only thanking those who had already given.

As one who is more used to (and comfortable) doing the thanking, it was a pleasant change to be on the other side, and inspirational to see how well a large organization like a major university could do in creating an intimate and personal thank you event for donors at all levels.

How personal are your organization's thank yous? Do you have a cut-off for those who get a personal response versus those who get a form letter? When was the last time you reviewed your major gift and thank you policies?

I can pretty much guarantee that following that reception all of our annual alumni gifts will be going to this particular fund. The gifts may be small, but as long as they are appreciated, they will continue.

Thank yous and horn blowing

Last week I completed an Interim Executive Director position that involved merging a small nonprofit child care agency into a larger one. (I will write more about that and the lessons learned in a future post.) Today, I received a wonderful thank you note from the [now former] board chair who hired me. I want to share part of that note and then use it to illustrate some points all nonprofits can learn from.

First, the note:

"Thank you for helping CFS during their interim phase. I appreciate everything you did to assist with the merger and make the transition so smoothly. I really appreciate the relationship and trust you developed with the staff as well. You did a fabulous job!"

Beyond the ego boost I enjoy from posting the note, there are a few things to point out:

• It was hand-written,
• it was mailed within a week of the end of the assignment, and
• it was completely unnecessary.

Imagine if every person who came into contact with your organization got such a wonderful, personal, and timely note? I got paid for my work. What about volunteers, donors, and other visitors?

You know I love to do everything online, but a hand-written note always has more power to convey the personal touch more than any other medium we have to connect with our nonprofit's supporters.

The other lesson I want to point out here is what I did with the note. I posted it right here on my web site for all to see. I'm proud of it.

Does your nonprofit ever receive nice notes from clients or other constituents? What do you do with them? File them away? Or do you post them on your web site and quote them in your newsletter and use them as publicity?

We're always shy in the nonprofit world about blowing our own horns. We're much too modest for that kind of crass self-promotion. And we pay the price for that attitude. Break down the barriers of shyness and share your honors and kudos with the world!

Thank yous are few and far between in the world today. Enjoy them and make the most of them when you can. And don't forget to give out a few of them yourself. And that's today's little lesson.

Tags: nonprofit, thank yous, letters, self-promotion