I’m holding my breath in anticipation of the returns from today’s mid-term elections here in the U.S.

I’m not holding my breath in anticipation of the flood of “Thank You’s” I’ll receive from the candidates and campaigns I donated to.

“Gimme! Gimme! Gimme”, the political piggies screamed over the past year as they snuffled their way into my wallet. By tomorrow the oink oinks will have abated.  No more “Urgent 4XMatch by Midnight Deadline”, no more “Polls Have Us In Dead Heat. Give Now”. No more “Gimme”—at least for a few days; until the volume cranks up again to begin filling the money trough for the 2020 campaigns.

Even before today’s votes are counted, I’m sure of one thing:  There will be few or no Thank You messages or final reports from those who just 24 hours ago treated me like democracy’s lifeline.

SADLY….most nonprofits are as bad as politicians when it comes to properly saying “Thank You.”

That’s why I’m pleased that yesterday the Philanthropy Centrereleased its latest study, Learning to Say Thank You: The Role of Donor Acknowledgementsby Drs. Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang, Katheryn Carpenter and Harriet Day. You can –and should – download it here.

Not only does this new study offer insights worth noting and testing (which I’ll get to in a moment), but it adds reinforcement to the critical importance of the proper treatment of donors when it comes to “Thank yous” and acknowledgements.

Over the years The Agitator has run more than 300 posts on the importance of proper thank yous.  The most recent was posted two weeks ago as 7 Easy Retention Wins. In it we decried the failure of many nonprofits to even bother thanking their donors, let alone thanking or acknowledging them properly.

At a time of falling retention rates, declining numbers of donors, and increased competition it passeth all understanding why this subject so often ignored or poorly implement.

You should download and read The Centre’s Learning to Say Thank You: The Role of Donor Acknowledgements for yourself, but here are a few nuggets you’ll want to explore.

In a Nutshell

The Centre’s research addresses four questions: 1) how do fundraisers define acknowledgment programs? 2) what purposes are served by these programs?; 3) what are biggest barriers that prevent effective implementation?, and; 4) how can acknowledgment programs be made more effective?

These questions are answered through a series of interviews and six tests that point fundraisers to the types of benefits that can be delivered by thank you communications.

Those readers who are looking for the “magic bullet” of specific tactics –do this, but not that –will be disappointed.  Why? Because, in addition to actual test results, the study also delves into psychological factors such as “well-being”, and ‘’feel good” motivation for giving.  Bottom line: communications that make donors feel good about the difference their contribution made increased average gifts and response rates significantly.

Barriers

In my experience far too many organizations treat the ‘thank you’ process as a sort of exercise in creative receipting.  Tax receipts. Cold/cool recognition that the gift was received. Emotional dead-ends.

Why?   Here are the two main reasons:

• Difficulty fundraisers have in convincing their organization to invest in thank yous.
• Lack of quantitative evidence of the benefit because there are no immediately measurable behavioral outcomes that can be used to show immediate return on investment.

To provide insight and ammunition for dealing with these barriers the researchers constructed two sets of three tests each to help fundraisers document what, if any, benefits are delivered by thank you communications.

The first set outlines the steps that should be taken at various stages of the donor’s relationship with the donor. (The tests seem to indicate that if the thank yous are done in a “consistent and lively manner” they improve average gift, response rates and overall “good feeling” in the donor base. However, I will note that I found the tests and the methodology confusing, so you might want to slow down and carefully read that section. Perhaps you can figure out better than I exactly what was being tested and why.)

The second set of tests outlines the steps necessary to balance the need to tell specific stories about individual beneficiaries while still conveying the organization’s wider impact on society. (Highly emotional thank yous are most effective in making donors feel better when they thank the donor for the difference that make over a longer period of time.

Qualitative Findings and Case Studies

Take time to read the section of the report where experienced fundraisers share their insights on what acknowledgements/thank yous can and can’t do. And review the specific examples of techniques used.

Then, of greatest interest to me as an advocacy fundraiser is the section “How Can We Make Acknowledgment Programs More Effective?”  where tactics –including the use of surveys–with various types of advocacy donors (from long-time to first-time) and petition signers are explored.  Fascinating and well-worth a careful read.

Factors You’ve Never Thought Of

I’ve long felt that too little thought and knowledge goes into the too-fast and sloppy preparation of thank yous and acknowledgments.

Read the section titled “Should We Use Cases or Numbers/Vastness” and you’ll find a range of considerations and questions you should ask and answer as you prepare your acknowledgements.

Just how important is it that the thank you message come from the CEO?   Just how important is it to tell donors about the ‘vastness’ of your organization’s amazing work?  And just how specific should you be about the power of the donor’s gift to make a difference? How concrete should you be?

There is no “correct” answer, but if you work your way through this section you’ll be alert to the nuances that every effective fundraiser should take into account.

After all, this report if about “Learning to Say Thank You”.  So put your thinking and reading cap on, then download and read the report.

Roger

P.S.  For those not inclined to follow the #GivingTuesday herd you might want to consider putting the power of Thank You to work as an effective substitute.  For a winning case study see #ThanksgivingTuesdayand A Bountiful Reward for Giving Thanks