Thankology: How to keep your donors longer, and giving stronger, through gratitude by Lisa Sargent

Fundraisers have a lot of information that help us to be good at asking and avoid response-lowering mistakes.

Because we get specific, factual, timely data. For our direct mail and email campaigns, we know how many donors gave and how much they gave. We can test subtle differences in approach and learn what works better.

What about thanking those who give?

We don’t know so much about that.

Our intuition and social experience (for most of us that is our mothers) tell us that thanking is good.

But a thank you message rarely generates immediate and trackable revenue. Success is indirect, and it shows up later in the form of stronger donor retention or more donor upgrading (increasing their giving either by giving more often or giving larger amounts).

These things are measurable, but they’re hard to track to specific things we did.

I think this is why that state of thanking in our industry is so abysmal.

Not having clarity about what thanking should be like, not suffering any immediate pain if we thank poorly – it’s easier to just dash out something cold and unemotional that includes the word “thank” – but doesn’t do much more than that.

Or worse, some fundraisers skip thanking entirely.

We really need help in the area of thanking: How to do it well. How to think clearly about it. What really makes a difference in what we do and how we do it.

Well, good news: There’s a new book just out by the acknowledged Wizard of Thanking, Lisa Sargent.

Every fundraiser should get Thankology right now. And read it. And read it again a year later and every year after that.

This book will fill your head with ideas for better thanking. Better yet, it will inspire you and energize your organization to care about thanking.

And that’s how you transform your donor relationships.

It’s the book fundraisers need right now. You especially need it if you are in one of these categories …

• If your organization is reluctant to spend money on thanking.
• If you struggle to find the emotional core of thanking.
• If you wonder what should be included in a quality thank-you.
• If you are already an ace at thanking, but you want to take it to the next level.

To give you a sample of what you’ll find in Thankology, here’s a transformative mnemonic to help you keep your thank-you messages on track: “THANKU.”

THANK and tell the donor their gift was received – confirmation.

HELP the donor to see what their gift is doing (or will do) – justification.

ASK the donor for something other than money – invitation.

NOTIFY the donor how they can reach you with questions – information.

KINDLE good feelings by showing how the donor’s gift is helping – illumination.

UPDATE the donor on when they’ll next hear from you – expectation.

Follow that rubric, and you’ll have a world-class thank-you message that will bring your donors closer. Try it. You’ll see.

Thankology is both a how-to and a why-to book about thanking donors. It’s written with heart and it practices what it preaches, using a breezy, readable style like a great thank-you note. It is destined to be one of those must-read books for smart fundraisers.

Members of The Fundraisingology Lab by Moceanic have access to Lisa’s inspiring online workshop, How to Write Your Best Ever Donation Thank You Letter Every Time. Find out how to join here.

It’s go time for year-end fundraising. If you’re still working on it, here’s help: Our popular super-concise e-book, Your Calendar for Successful Year-End Fundraising – for FREE to download. It’s a step-by-step guide for the critical last quarter, starting from October and going through to the biggest fundraising day of the year, December 31. Proven steps for maximizing the most generous time of year.

Related Blog Posts:

• 6 Winning Ways to Start Your Next Fundraising Appeal
• Thankuary: Donor Love for the Win!
• The Not-Really-a-Newsletter Newsletter That Can Supercharge Your Donor Retention