16 June 2016
We all love the feeling when someone says thank you and appreciates you for your efforts. Appreciation can come in many forms, from spoken words of gratitude, to a smile or a phone call, to written note or small gift. Whether the gesture is simple or grand, the sentiment is still the same for the person receiving the thanks and it may even brighten up their day. Maggie Warrell explained in Forbes that, “encouragement is about more than just getting the best of people… it’s about making a meaningful impact on another human being.”
This is the core reason of how fundraisers benefit from saying thank you. The impact you’ll have on your supporters will not only encourage them to continue their support with you, but will also have a effect on their personal wellbeing. If your supporters know that you acknowledge their donations and appreciation the effort they have put it to support your cause, then it’s more likely that they will continue their support with you. Whether they choose to donate more funds, or sign up to a regular subscription, follow your progress through email sign ups & social media or attend your fundraising events, it’s great to see the loyalty of each supporter grow throughout time. The thank you they receive will also have a positive effect on their happiness. To feel appreciated and part of the team will no doubt lighten their mood and create a lasting connection between the way they feel and your gesture of kindness and thanks. It is extremely important for you to communicate how vital your supporter’s donations are to the journey of the charity and to acknowledge their gesture of kindness with a gesture of your own.
However, finding the right way to say thank you is key to the delivery of your message. Often, thank you messages that are received from corporations can feel robotic and distant. This is because businesses, profit or non-profit, don’t have the time or resources to create individual, personalised thank you letters for each of their supporters. But this is where you could stand out! There are a few simple ways you can add a personal touch to your messages that will ensure you benefit from saying thank you to your supporters.
The best advice to remember is to construct the thank you message as if you were talking to your friend. This will allow the message to feel relaxed, personal, friendly and ultimately meaningful. Talk to your supporters like you know them, this will help the thank you to sound genuine and sincere. Always refer to them by their name and if you can, try to be specific about their donation. Thank them for the exact amount they gave or the specific event they attended.
It’s always a good idea to think about the way the message is communicated. Will you send your thanks by email, letter or postcard? To ensure your message is remembered, don’t be afraid to step out of the ordinary. A letter can be a great, affordable way of getting your messaged to your supporters, however a letter can often feel formal. A letter is often associated with bills and bad news. So mix up your message and send a thank you on a beautifully designed postcard. Postcards have a nostalgic feeling and are often associated with messages from loved ones. This familiar, sincere communication is what you want to deliver, so a postcard is great to communicate your message, send cheaply in the post as well as give them something they could potentially keep and pin to the fridge! We like to send all our customers a little thank you note from the team because every order we receive means we can continue to do what we love. We have chosen 4 great designs that we hoped would make our customers smile when they opened their raffle ticket box.
You could always up the level of appreciation and offer your donors a gift for their support. You could send them exclusive access to information, a personalised invitation to your next event or even a mention in the next charity newsletter / magazine. Not only will that make your thank you unforgettable, but it could also encourage further support as it proven that having public recognition inspires donors to donate.
Ultimately, only you truly understand your supporters so you will know if they’d prefer traditional methods of thanks or something a little original. But, however you decide to thank you donors, the important thing is that you do and you do it with a personal touch.