Let your Thank you’ be thank you!

From a young age we are taught to say thank you but the older we get the more we forget...

Towards the end of 2021, I had the honor of meeting with one of my donors in their home. It was the first time I had met them in person and we had a lovely time getting to know each other. We discovered our shared love of travelling and seeing new places. I heard about their long successful careers and the joy of raising their children, grandchildren and now great grandchildren. They asked me what brought me to Australia and remarked it was one of the places they had always wanted to visit but it was just too far - I totally understood that!!

About 15 mins into our visit, my donor's wife excused herself to allow us to talk ‘business’. The question was asked of me, ‘What do you have for me today?’. I realised that he was expecting me to ask him for a donation.

My response took him by surprise - ‘Actually I came today to meet you and say thank you in person for your generous support of the ministry for so many years. I also wanted you to have a copy of the new bible studies that have just been published and are being distributed across the country because of your generosity.’

My donor had been prepared for me to ask when all I wanted to do was say thank you.

Thank you is something we are taught to say from a very young age and yet we forget to use it as adults or we add conditions to it - thank you and would you give again to this project or thank you and….

As I presented the bible studies to my donor, I watched as the smile spread across his face. Over the next 30 mins I was able to share some stories about how the studies had impacted people across the country. At the end of our time together I had the privilege to pray for him and his family.

As I was getting up from my seat to leave, he looked up at me and said ‘You’ve impressed me’.

Wow!! Here was a man who had owned many different successful businesses during his life and he said I had impressed HIM!!

I walked away so humbled by our time together. Why? Because I got to witness the power of gratitude in action. My donor had sacrificially given to our organization to make a difference! That day I was able to give him a tangible example of the difference he was making.

As a fundraiser it is easy to be driven by income targets and KPI’s. But donations are the outcome of how well we build relationships, how well we honor our donors and the integrity of how we invite people to be involved.

Shortly I will send my donor a letter asking him to prayerfully consider making another donation. My hope is that he will remember our time together, the stories I shared and the impact that he has made as he considers his response.

For now, saying thank you and only thank you is the best thing I can do.

Don’t sacrifice the short term gain for the long term investment! Give honor where honor is due.

Tips on saying ‘Thank you’ to donors

• Be sincere

• Share stories of how their donation made a difference - make it as personal as possible

• Use inclusive language - ‘together we have…’

• Timing matters - say thank you as soon as you can

• Finish the story - if they gave to a particular project, give them an update