Charities Flunk the Gratitude Test

March 13, 2009

Charities Flunk the Gratitude Test

Kivi Leroux Miller, the author of the Kivi’s Nonprofit Communications Blog, is deeply disappointed with the results of an experiment she calls “What I Got When I Gave.”

In November, Ms. Miller converted credit-card miles into cash which she distributed as $25 gifts to 12 different national charities through Network for Good, a nonprofit group that channels online donations to nonprofit groups nationwide.

Three and a half months later, she writes, only 4 of the 12 organizations have acknowledged her gift, even though she offered them her e-mail and and mailing address through Network for Good.

Of those four, she commended National Public Radio, which sent an impersonal thank-you not by e-mail within a few weeks of the gift. “Personalization would have been nice, but at least they got the gold star for timeliness,” she writes.

Interplast, a charity that provides reconstructive surgery to poor in developing countries, earned kudos for a personalized paper thank-you note that included before and after photos of a child who had been helped by surgery.

The Alliance for Climate Protection acknowledged the gift with a personally addressed paper thank-you, and the fourth, St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, followed up by adding Ms. Miller’s name to its e-mail newsletter.

Ms. Miller isn’t naming names on the thankless remaining eight. It’s possible, she writes, that for those organizations, $25 is too small a gift to acknowledge, particularly during the holiday rush, or that the charities aren’t set up to acknowledge donors through the Network for Good site. But still, she asks, “can’t a girl get a thank-you note?”

What’s your organization’s thank-you policy? Share your thoughts in the comments box below.
— Paula Wasley

Comments

From the giver’s perspective I don’t know if a thank you is all that important beyond an acknowledgment of what is received. Giving to something good should be rewarding enough But for the nonprofit it can only be a plus to personalize and retain giver loyalty if your organization has a long term vision.

— Daniel Mar 13, 11:37 AM #
This is a priority with Education And More—- a personalized thank you for all donations! You can never say ‘thank you’ too often when someone gives you a gift.
Karen
http://www.educationandmore.org

— Karen Mar 13, 11:52 AM #
“within a few weeks” gets a gold star for timeliness? Wow. We’re a lot smaller but we try to practice “Thank before you bank.”

Makes me wonder if those large groups keep their contact information up to date on Network For Good’s system.

— Robin Mohr Mar 13, 12:55 PM #
With a wide-spread view of donors at ATM’s—you go up, push a few buttons and out pops the cash—it’s little wonder there is a lack of gratitude. For many organizations, there is also a very real sense of entitlement that get seriously in the way of being grateful for philanthopic support.

— Philanthro Joe Mar 13, 01:10 PM #
It would be interesting to see this test conducted with gifts made directly on the nonprofits’ websites. In our experience, we don’t receive notification of contributions from Network for Good for up to a month after the contributions are made. This makes the impact of follow-up stewardship efforts almost meaningless in many cases.

However, if you donate directly on our website, you get a personalized e-mail thank you receipt within 10 minutes.

— Andrew Mar 13, 01:11 PM #
In a perfect world, my organization would love to have the resources to personally thank donors for every gift, through every 3rd party vehicle no matter how small, but would end up spending a large portion of the cost of this gift in staff time and resources. 3rd party gift organizations all have different distribution vehicles (some have login online donor reports, some come with the check, some are mailed seperately from the check, some funds are wired, some are emailed)When we receive NFG gifts, it takes a gift processor time to find the donors record (if already created), input all of the information, etc, etc, etc. Why didn’t she give straight to the organization and forgo the administrative fee NFG takes out of gifts. And yes, it does take NFG time to cut the check, and the organization time to process it. Kudos to those who thanked, but its not always feasible when trying to keep costs down and focus the funds on the mission!

— Anonymous Mar 13, 01:15 PM #
I don’t think I would want to work for an organization that doesn’t thank $25 donors. One thing we’ve done with our Network for Good donors, since they do get a receipt from Network for Good, is do all the thank yous for the previous month at once. We also add a P.S. thanks for those who take on the processing fees so the full amount of their donation comes to Walden (www.waldenschool.org)

— Esther Mar 13, 01:16 PM #
Let us not forget that 80% of our funds come from 20% of our donors – and usually they are the low dollar donors’ gifts that add up. A gift, any size, should always be thanked within 2 business weeks – no excuses. If you believe that it is too costly to thank your donors then (1) you need to revamp your acknowledgment program and (2) just imagine if you had no donors to thank!

— Louise Mar 13, 01:23 PM #
We believe that very timely (within one week) thank you acknowledgments should be a must for any gift, no matter the size. We have noted that many of the gifts we get through Network for Good are marked “anonymous.” Our best guess has been that some of these donors didn’t mean to be anonymous but just clicked the wrong button.

— MJ Mar 13, 01:34 PM #
About four years ago, I implemented a policy that all donors, large and small, recieve a printed thank you and a brief handwritten note by the director of the foundation within 4 days. We also have one of our volunteer board memebers make a personal call to each and every donor and thank them for their gift, regardless of the size of the gift or where they’re loacted. As a result we have seen a steady increase each year in donations, and more importantly the average number of gifts per donor and average size of the donations. It’s made a world of difference in the giving patterns to our organization.

— John Mar 13, 01:55 PM #
I agree that thank you letters and phone calls are extremely important – especially in today’s economic climate. It’s another powerful way to distinguish your organization from so many others.

Reading about the challenges nonprofits face with Network for Good was enlightening. Wouldn’t it be nice if NFG enhanced its customer service in this way: Automatically redirect donors to a THANK YOU page after completing their donation process? Here the message says something like . . . “On behalf of Network for Good and especially on behalf of the great people at [NFG auto-fills this field with the name of the nonprofit, Acme Do Good], we thank you for your donation. Also, we wanted you to know that Acme Do Good will receive your donation within the next 2 to 4 weeks and put your money to work right away. And depending upon how much contact information you shared, they may or may not be able to send you another acknowledgement. So again, Acme Do Good is very grateful for your $xx donation – thank you!”

It’s relatively simple for NFG to add that simple step and the language to their confirmation/thanks page. And it would enhance donor relations for everyone because I seriously doubt donors have any idea – or really care – about the system challenges and the time delay for funds to reach the nonprofit. All they know is they gave money and no one thanked them.

This way NFG increases their level of service to the nonprofits, donors are happier because they’ve been thanked and now realize their money doesn’t get to Acme instantly, and the nonprofits benefit by knowing the donor was thanked on their behalf. This takes care of anonymous donors and those who don’t supply enough contact information to be thanked. But whenever possible, I encourage the nonprofits to send another thank you letter to the donors.

Karen Zapp, Fundraising Copywriter
http://www.pkscribe.com

— Karen Zapp Mar 13, 02:11 PM #
I just had this discussion with a small nonprofit. Asking for a charitable donation, be it in-person or online, is often seen as selling the ultimate intangible. The donor most often can’t touch or hold the end result of what they buy. Not only that, the donor doesn’t benefit from the programs they support.

Quickly and sincerely thanking donors is often the only “tangible” that comes from their giving. Charities have a choice whether to make supporting their organizations tangible or not. Thank your donors. Thank them quickly. Thank them passionately. And thank them often.

— Kevin Feldman Mar 13, 02:27 PM #
Thank you for all of this input. I work at Network for Good and wanted to chime in to let you know that we are listening to what everyone has to say here and all of the comments yesterday on the original blog post.

-Esther, thanks for sharing how your organization is handling the follow-up.

-Karen, your thank you page and messaging suggestions are good ones.

I already outlined some of the things that Network for Good does to help charities acknowledge donors like email notification, our donation tracking report which makes the donor details accessible at anytime, and reminders to follow-up in our payment notifications. We look forward to finding ways to incorporate your suggestions to improve the donor and nonprofit experience with our giving system.

— Stacie Mann Mar 13, 03:25 PM #
It does make a difference to donors. I sent out 4 checks for $100 each to different organizations last December. I received a thank you from 3 of the 4. I never heard from the local food bank and I know for a fact that they need donations! If my check hadn’t cleared I wouldn’t even know that they had received the money. The other 3 organizations will get repeats next year. I may try to find a comparable charity to replace the food bank next year not because I am miffed at being ignored (I gave to help the hungry), but because I wonder how well managed the place is if they can’t even send me a preprinted postcard letting me know that the gift was received. Other groups feed the hungry, maybe I’ll check them out.

— Melissa Mar 13, 03:42 PM #
Eisenhower Medical Center Foundation has a personalized, written and personally signed thank you sent within 48 hours of the gift, regardless of the size. Larger gifts also receive a personal phone call,a letter from the President/CEO and a letter from the Board Chair. This is a small effort to thank people who make a difference in our mission, regardless of size.

— Randy Mueller Mar 13, 04:18 PM #
The most meaningful and tangible way of thanking donors is to also communicate specific results that were achieved with their gift. When it comes to smaller gifts, talk about the collective impact made from the gifts of many donors — “It is because of your gift and those of other caring people that we were able to provide shelter to 100 homeless families in March.”

— Kevin Feldman Mar 13, 04:47 PM #
I have seen this from both sides. I remember once giving $100 to an organization working to help drug addicts (I believe in Washington DC) after reading or hearing something that really touched me. Another time I gave a smaller amount that supposedly bought a solar cooker for Darfur refugees. I never heard from these organizations again with any kind of appeal or update. I don’t remember if I got a thank you note, probably I did at least electronically. But I now don’t know who they are and so would be unlikely to donate again. I was surprised not to be added to some kind of list. I wonder if I opted out of “more information” at the time. Still I think that organizations should think about separating an email newsletter subscription list from the annual appeal list. The appeal list could include everyone. The question of a thank-you note is one thing, but the question of integrating even small donors into lists of potential donors is another.

— Liz Mar 13, 04:59 PM #
To me, this almost HAS to be an issue with the Network for Good method. That is, from what I can tell, anyone can donate to any listed charity. So, you give to the N4G website, and they process it, send $ to the charity, presumably with the information you gave N4G. Then the charity must process it.

I recall once getting a gift via some bank notice, and none of us had ever seen this kind of thing before. Had to research it to find out what it was. Took time and time away from plenty of other tasks. If I knew in advance it was a gift, it would have been higher priority, but some of these new things can be rather arcane for many smaller charities. It’s a great idea but so new I think net savvy donors have to expect some glitches until the concepts go mainstream in most charities.

— Fred Mischler Mar 13, 05:23 PM #
Also, charities need to remember their legal duties imposed by tax law that gifts must be recipted in a reasonable time. The thank you and the receipt can (and probably should) be done on the same letter, but if they must receipt the donor, they should also thank them profusely in a timely manner.

— Fred Mischler Mar 13, 05:26 PM #
You’ve GOT to be kidding! All this whining about thanking someone! Costs too much – Takes too much time – Knowing where the gift goes should be enough.
How many of us woke up this morning and said “Gee, I hope nobody thanks me today.”
Almost every major gift I’ve been fortunate enough to help obtain (and there have been many) have come from donors whose small gifts grew over time and were sincerely appreciated every step of the way.
A gift is something freely given. So is gratitude…
Thank you.

— Susan Scribner Mar 13, 08:24 PM #
This post was highlighted in the March 13 edition of ‘Gratitude Watch.’

Thank you for promoting the value of gratitude.

— Daniel Brenton Mar 14, 04:35 AM #
Embracing low dollar donors is key. The Obama team quickly recognized that many people just couldn’t afford to donate $50, yet still wanted to support and contribute to the campaign. Nonprofits can easily use a similar strategy by setting donation limits at $5 or $10 — or not even having a limit. This tactic makes low dollar donors feel valued and part of an organization, even if they don’t have a lot of money to contribute. It also builds good relationships. As these donors earn more money, they will increase their donation amounts. And the Obama team did an excellent job at thanking all of their donors. These are the big take-aways any nonprofit can learn from the Obama Campaign.

Feel free to check out my article on Everything You Wanted to Know About Online Fundraising in a Bad Economy

— Allyson Kapin Mar 14, 09:32 AM #
I’m with “thank before you bank”. AFP Standards would dictate a 48-72 hr. acknowledgment policy is best. During direct mail season and our high giving period which is around Thanksgiving, our small agency sees and appreciates every donation and acknowledges every donation from $1 up. Under $50 is now receiving postcards (unless it is a special event). $51 and up
receive letters from DOD and ED and spot phone calls are made. PayPal and email acknowledgements are admittedly not as organized…yet! Point is well taken about on-line giving as we all look at moving in that direction.

— Cecelia Mar 14, 10:52 AM #
I’d like to think that those of us in donor-reliant organizations are committed to responses more timely than “within a few weeks of the gift.” Perhaps I’m swayed by being in the business, but I’d send repeat gifts to those organizations who acknowledge my gift promptly – it tells me 1) that they care enought about my gift to thank me quickly and 2) that they are organized and prepared to put my gift to use.

At my institution (independent school), we send gift acknowledgements the day the contribution is received – the next day at the latest, if there is a rare holdup or question. Then, about five days later, I send another personalized thank you with a takeaway – a window decal of our organziation and their relationship to it (Parent, Alumnus, Friend, etc.), asking for their help sharing our name in their community. Next, they are added to our stewardship newsletter (4 times a year) that tells them how donations further the mission of our school. Finally, we thank them in other ways (Thanksgiving cards, letters from campus, etc.) to help them know how much their participation (at any level) means to us.

I think the Gratitude Test has been graded on a damaging curve for far too long. We can all do better than the results Ms. Miller found in the article’s example.

— Frank McKay Mar 15, 01:25 PM #
Thanks to everyone for sharing your comments. In my follow-up post, I noted that 7 of the 8 charities that didn’t acknowledge the gift have gross receipts over $1 million, with most well over that. Several are MAJOR players in the charity world. Because I was converting miles into gifts, I didn’t have the option of giving to the charities directly. Capital One has partnered with Network for Good for processing. I suspect that several of these nonprofits, even though they clearly have big enough budgets to do so, just don’t want the hassle of dealing with gifts that don’t come to them directly.

FYI, I called this experiment “what I got when I gave” in part because I was hoping to get back some really great donor cultivation thank you letters and other follow up that I could share as examples with my blog readers. Interplast in really the only group that came through it that regard.

— Kivi Leroux Miller Mar 15, 02:08 PM #
Personalized and ASAP is our policy.

As a donor, I am not overly disappointed with late/no thank yous, but the real quick ones impress me. My college once sent me a thank you note 48 hours after I wrote the check.

Memorial Sloan Ketterting recently sent me just another mass solicitation, in response to my check… And I am still waiting on something from Heifer International, 3 months later.

— Yana Mar 15, 08:08 PM #
Saying “Thank You” to a donor and volunteers is the cardinal rule of fundraising and with workplace giving donors there are a few additional challenges, all of which are rather easily dealt with.

In workplace giving there are three categories of people who should be thanked, and most non-profits do fine with the first category, and do an absolutely lousy job of saying “thank you” to the other two categories of people.

Using the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) which is America’s largest workplace giving program — in terms of actual giving, if the CFC was a foundation it would the the 10th largest foundation in the USA — as the basis for these points:

1) First category of donors – identified donors who have released their contact information. There is a time lag of 3-6 months from when the donor makes their pledge to when the information is relased to the non-profit.

2. Anonymous Givers – donors don’t have to give their names, and most non-profits do not realize that anonymous givers are some of their strongest supporters. If they’re anonymous how do you thank them? Easy – in your publications, on your website, at your recognition events, etc.
Estimate is that 60% or more of the donors choose this option and they value it highly.

3. The third category that should be thanked (and almost never are) are the volunteers that do the actual solicitations. How do you thank them? The same way as the anonymous donors are thanked – on your website, in your publications, if you recognize volunteers during National Volunteer Week, etc.

Regards,
Bill Huddleston
www.cfcfundraising.com

CFC – $1 billion dollars of unrestricted, reliable and predictable gifts to thousands of local, national and international non-profits over the past five years.

— Bill Huddleston Mar 15, 08:22 PM #
I used to work at Interplast and loved the philosophy of gratitude that permeated the development team and the entire organization. The small thank yous not only lead to the bigger gifts, but cultivate a culture of gratitude and passion for the mission.

- Archana
http://southasianphilanthropy.org

— Archana Mar 16, 10:55 AM #
My husband and I donated $3,000 to the community foodbank of NJ for our wedding and didn’t so much as recieve one thank you letter! Just an e-mail of confirmation. How do you think that makes us feel?

— anon Mar 16, 02:21 PM #
I agree that handwritten or personalized letters are nice to get as an acknowledgment for a donation, but I hope people will see well-written emails as acceptable substitutes – think of the environment please!

— Alana Mar 19, 02:27 PM #
The comment on here that “giving to something good should be rewarding enough” reflects a worrisome focus on what should be rather than on what really is. In a perfect world, people would see the good NPOs do and just support them (well, I guess that wouldn’t be a perfect world for those employed in fundraising).

In the real world, people expect to be thanked. How do you feel when you hold the door open for someone and they walk right by without an acknowledgement, or when you let someone get in front of you during rush hour on the freeway and you don’t get “the wave”?

We all want acknowledgement and gratitude for what we do, even if it’s something we’re “supposed” to do, such as doing our jobs well. A thank you is monumentally important because it demonstrates to the donor that you actually value what they are doing. Donors have lots of options if they want to support animal welfare or religious teaching or poverty relief – why would they continue to give to someone who doesn’t value their gift enough to thank them?

Our research has consistently shown that how you communicate to donors tells them an awful lot about you. Just the wrong turn of phrase or the wrong word can send the wrong message about your organization.

I love what Archana said above about the “philosophy of gratitude” at Interplast. Does it seem like that philosophy holds true for the community foodbank of NJ referenced by the next poster? They may not see $3,000 as a big deal, but the donor certainly did. The same may be true of someone’s $50 gift.

In general, your communication to donors and prospects – how and when it arrives, what it says, how it looks, and how it treats them – says a lot more to them than you may think it does.

— Ron Sellers, Ellison Research Mar 19, 06:53 PM #
A few years ago I donated a $10,000 boat, fully appraised value, to a nonprofit that failed to thank me, failed to send the IRS form needed, and failed in various other ways. I wrote a major article for the Nonprofit World Magazine called “How to Alienate a Donor” In contrast, I shared a story about three women who took a trunk load of left over garage sale items to a Boy’s Ranch where I served as Executive Director and how our thank you/cultivation process resulted in a $250,000 Boy’s Ranch chapel with the first major gift coming from the three women. Getting that thank you letter out quick…along with other follow up appreciation communications is critical.

— Harlan Dalluge Mar 21, 08:33 PM #
“Giving to something good should be rewarding enough” is short-sighted. Sure, maybe, when it’s time that’s being donated. But when I’m chosing to give my own money to an organization, I want a thank you. A local charity sends me an updated letter each time I donate instead of a generic thank you, and frankly, that’s one of the reasons I keep donating to them. And I have stopped donating, in the four figures, to an organization because they were rude to me. If I donated somewhere and never received an acknowledgment — that would be the last time they got any money from me, no question about it.

— Janet Mar 30, 01:20 PM #

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