Thank u

December 3, 2015 by Mark Rovner

Study after study shows that a major driver of donor defection is the feeling that they are not appreciated. How many times have you heard fundraisers rant and rave about this? And yet chances are, you have not amped up your “gratitude communications.”

Silly you. Rather than rant and rave, I’m going to share with you a snippet of conversation from a focus group with lapsed donors to an organization they respect and care about. (And no I’m not telling who the organization is.)

  • Donor 1: “so many solicitations. You do seem to get an awful lot and they never seem to thank you for the ones you’ve given. I can remember being distinctly upset at one point. This was years ago where I had just given them $100 or $200. I immediately got another and they never sent me a thank you.”
  • Donor 2: “All organizations are like that.”
  • Donor 3: “Yeah, they never seem to be truly happy that you are contributing.”
  • Donor 4: “They just want more.”

Get the picture?