Did Your Parents Teach You Common Courtesy?

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Since many of you are involved or sell to direct mail fund raisers, I thought it appropriate to address a cardinal rule of fund raising – thank you letters.

Over the past year, I sent three donations to some causes that I wanted to support. The contributions were $50 each. Afterward, I received a mail solicitation from one asking for a donation without any reference to my initial donation and so far, I haven't heard anything from the other two. While the amounts I gave were relatively small, what does that say to me the donor? I guess that my contributions did not register on their radar as meaningful enough to warrant a thank you. Mind you, that is not why I donated these funds, but if these causes ever wanted to see more donations from me, they probably missed the boat!

 

I can assure you that the simple phrase "thank you" goes a long way towards setting the table for additional contributions and sometimes that can be immediately after the last donation.

This is just a simple case of common courtesy. When you receive a gift from someone, don't you thank them as a matter of course, no matter how small the gift, or, do you first weigh the value of the gift to decide who to thank? If you are raising funds for a cause and you do not thank your donors in a timely manner (within a week) you are missing a huge opportunity. Charities that cut costs by refraining from mailing personalized thank-you letters - or by sending preprinted postcards are missing the boat. A courteous thank you gives the donor a sense of satisfaction that their funds were received and are being put to good use. People want to know that they and their money are truly appreciated.

One of the best examples of this technique is an organization that raises funds for political campaigns. They send a unique personalized print on-demand InteliMailer to each donor within a day or two of the initial donation. The personalized unique InteliMailer acknowledges the receipt of the funds, explains how the funds are being put to use and in the same mailer, they ask for additional funds to help accomplish their mission. They even suggest a similar or even higher donation amount than the initial contribution

Here's the surprising part! When they respond in such a timely manner, they normally get a very positive response with additional donations. Over the course of the campaign, this can add up to many thousands of additional dollars collected for each campaign.

Why does this happen?

It's simple. The donation is still fresh in the minds of the donor and the appreciation shown through the courteous personalized thank you letter and a further explanation as to why additional funds are required, giving the donor a feeling that their money is being used effectively. Therefore they have and will continue to make a difference for the cause.

For more information or samples please contact Ed Glaser, CMO at Acculink. He can be reached at (252)321-5805 or at ed.glaser@acculink.com.