Think about a time you received a personal thank you for something you’ve done or a gift you’ve given. Whether it was via email, phone call, or a handwritten note, you likely felt appreciated, seen, connected, warm fuzzies…and more likely to repeat that action again!

Now think of a time when you went out of your way to help a friend and they never acknowledged your time, energy, or resources. Perhaps you felt underappreciated or ignored …and considering whether you’d go out of your way to assist in the future.

The feelings associated with receiving a genuine thank you carry over to the experiences your organization’s donors may have when you thank them for their support. Research shows that prompt and authentic thank you messages increase donor likelihood to give again. And when donors give again, it means continued and strengthened support for your mission.

Stewardship has absolutely no downsides. It helps donors feel appreciated and valued, and studies show that people who write thank you letters also experience increased feelings of happiness. Giving should be a joyful experience! 

Staff capacity

Stewardship is a great entry point for others at your organization to get involved with your fundraising efforts. Fundraising isn’t just asking and writing appeal letters—it’s relationship building! Consider the following:

• Are there volunteers who could write thank you cards?
• Would board members make thank you calls if you prepared them?
• Does your organization have non-fundraising staff who would be willing to write a few thank you notes?

Speaking of thank you letters and notes, they can come in many forms!

• Automated - Is your thank you message up-to-date on your GiveMN.org page? This message automatically appears when an individual completes their gift to you on GiveMN.org. Read more about how to customize your thank you message here.
• Handwritten - Handwritten thank you cards are one of the most personal and meaningful ways to share your message of gratitude. Even if you don’t have capacity to handwrite a message for every single donor, consider if there’s at least a portion of your donors you can connect with in this way, like new donors, major donors, or other groups. (P.S. Handwritten messages stand out the most because they’re becoming more rare! We all get hundreds of emails per day, so handwritten notes feel special and unique.)
• Phone calls - Pick up the phone and say “thank you!” Even if you just leave a voicemail, the human-to-human connection of a phone call can be really meaningful to some donors.
• What other methods could your organization use? 
  

Your donor information

How you thank your donors might depend on what information you have about them. Don’t have their physical address? Try sending an email or making a phone call! Don’t have their email? Send a card or postal letter!

Some other important pieces of information to consider for your thank you messages:

• Do you have additional information about your donors, like their preferred names, pronouns, etc.?
• For example, the name on the donation is Jonathan Smith, but they prefer to be called John. 
• Does your donor give as a household? If there are two people giving together, make sure you acknowledge both individuals! 

Communications channels

How do your donors prefer to receive communication from you? Consider the following ideas:

• If your donors are active on social media: Try sharing a social media post thanking your audience for their support! Whether or not every single social media follower gave to your campaign, you can still spread your message of gratitude far and wide.
• If your donors respond to printed letters asking for their support: Try sending them a handwritten card or typed thank you letter to acknowledge their gift.
• If your donors give in person or at events: Give them a call! If they like engaging with you face-to-face, then the individual, verbal element of a thank you phone call might feel extra meaningful to them.
• If your donors give online: Send an email! Whether that’s a personal note of thanks or a group thank you email, emails might be the best way to communicate with this group. Even emails can be creative—consider a simple thank you graphic with a photo representing your work, or even a quick video shot on a cell phone of people thanking them.
  

Whom to thank

Financial donors aren’t the only people to thank! There are so many people that make the work of Minnesota’s nonprofits and schools a reality. Consider including the following supporters:

• Volunteers
• Board members
• Leaders and/or staff at other organizations with which you partner
• Past donors (this can be a strategy to reactivate their support)
• Your organization’s staff

Celebrating your staff and colleagues

Fundraising is not easy work! It’s important to take time to recognize the good work of your team and your organization. Oftentimes, we forget about celebrating ourselves and our work when it comes to stewardship. When it comes to stewarding our colleagues, consider some of these ideas:

• Debrief meeting – Make time to debrief the results of your campaign or event. Talk about what went well, what you’d improve for next time, and thank your colleagues for their hard work! 
• Individual recognition – Not everyone wants to be recognized publicly, but taking a few minutes to write a heartfelt email or card to your colleague to thank them for their collaboration can go a long way.
• Intentional rest – Use your paid time off if you have it! Encourage colleagues (and yourself!) to plan ahead and take PTO. It’s important to unplug and take time away from work. 

Need more ideas to kick start your stewardship brainstorming? We've created some simple sample thank you messaging across multiple communications channels—email, social media, and a phone call!