Category Archives: Thank You

Thank You’s For Year-End Giving

November 4, 2013Fundraising Fundamentals, Thank YouChronicle of Philanthropy, Claire Axelrod, Cody Switzer, donor appreciatian, donor thanks, Gene Takagi, thank you campaign, Tony Martihgnetti, year-end givingTony

Last week for The Chronicle of Philanthropy I co-hosted a Google+ Hangout on Air on creative thank you’s–and the legal requirements that accompany them–for your year-end giving campaign.

With me were:
Claire Axelrad, fundraising consultant at Clairification.com
Gene Takagi, Esq., principal of the Nonprofit & Exempt Organizations law group (NEO) and contributor to Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio
Cody Switzer, my co-host and web editor at The Chronicle

It was Halloween fun, valuable info and over 200 hung out with us!

I’ve got takeaways:
— if you’re a small, local nonprofit, use it to your advantage: visit your donors with small thank you gifts
— Claire bakes, so she brings cookies or brownies to donors’ homes to say thanks—that’s incredible!
— handwritten notes are very rare, so they’re special; use them for an informal thanks within 48 hours of the gift
— there are lots of inexpensive ways to give a sincere thanks—watch the vid, below
— if you use video and kids are included, get a simple release from parents (Gene had more on video, so watch below)
— all formal acknowledgements have to include name of nonprofit, date of gift and amount
— for gifts of $250 or more, add a description if it’s not cash and a statement whether your donor received something in exchange

Here’s the video. (It ends abruptly because the host computer rebooted and kicked us all off. Well, not all. Claire, Gene and I kept the show going, hoping that the recording hadn’t ended, but it had.)

Thank you Claire, Gene and Cody! And Margie Fleming Glennon at The Chronicle for organizing us!

p.s. Here’s Gene’s blog on our Hangout.

Thank You For Helping A Listener

October 28, 2013Fundraising Fundamentals, Thank Youapology, Donor Relations, fundraising, fundraising advice, mistake, nonprofitTony

Image courtesy of Iain Farrell, Creative Commons license

Nonprofit Radio listener Matt asked me what to do after a direct mail mistake. I blogged his question and our community stepped up in grand fashion to help him.

THANK YOU!

His office sent thousands of appeal letters misstating previous gift amounts. He wondered what to do and these generous pros stepped up to give smart advice:

Ruthellen Rubin
Kris Gibson
Richard Freedlund
Pamela Grow
Rick J. Blount

THANKS TO EACH OF YOU!

You’re proof that our community can come together quickly and generously to help someone in need. I’ve always felt the nonprofit community’s energy and commitment to the greater good–and each other.

Places like #fundchat and Joanne Fritz’s about.com column stand out as great examples.

So what was our advice for Matt?

Send a quick, sincere apology letter–signed by a senior person–stressing a commitment to accuracy and pledging to take steps to prevent a similar mistake.

I agree. Openness, transparency, honesty and contrition are most respected when you’ve made a mistake. They’re never easy but they’re always best.

Have you got a question for our community? I’ll blog it and ask it on Nonprofit Radio.

What’s on your mind?

Can Planned Giving Prospects Reply On Your Reply Card?

October 14, 2013Fundraising Fundamentals, Planned Giving, Thank Youcharity, donor needs, fundraising, nonprofit, personalized reply, planned giving, reply cardsTony

When my mom turned 78 over the summer she got the birthday note above from a 70-something friend of hers. The writing gets me thinking about the design of Planned Giving reply cards so that your elderly prospects can use them.

It’s timely because we’re in year-end mode.

The thoughtful note is written by a shaky hand that requires extra space to be legible. That means your reply cards need to have lots of vertical and horizontal space if you’re asking people to fill in their name, address, etc.

The best practice–and the one I urge my clients to adopt–is to send personalized reply cards. The name and address are laser printed, either after the card is printed in bulk or at the same time.

But you may ask prospects for their email or phone, even on a personalized card. Leave lots of space between lines (horizontal) and make the space large vertically.

If a mail house prepares your postal mailings, personalizing reply cards adds to your expense. Where you hopefully had a double match, between outer carrier envelope and letter, you now have a triple match. That costs more. (I say “hopefully” because no Planned Giving letter should be addressed to friend, sir or madam, or anything other than the prospect’s name. I said a lot more about writing letters in two posts for GuideStar here and here.)

If you prepare your mailings in-house or can’t afford the expense of the triple match, design your reply card with plenty of space for elderly hands that may be afflicted with arthritis, nerve damage, be painful, shake or just need lots of room to write.

This is but a small part of focusing on the needs of your Planned Giving prospects and donors.

It will be appreciated.

Women’s Touching Relationship Stories

July 22, 2013Thank Youcommunication, Maria Cuomo Cole, non-profit, non-profits, nonprofit, nonprofits, philanthropy, relationshipsTony

Last month I was privileged to hear professional women share touching stories about relationships that meant the world to them, from moms to mentors.

I was a guest at a meeting of Executive Women in Nonprofits, part of the New York Society of Association Executives. I interviewed Maria Cuomo Cole, chair of HELP USA, talking about relationships that have helped her professionally.

Then we broadened to a group discussion.

Brave executive women opened themselves to the 30 in attendance revealing how all kinds of relationships helped them get where they are. The stories moved me to tears.

At that moment, I felt I was invisibly witnessing women talking when there isn’t a man in the room. In fact, there were two of us. The other was silent and, as facilitator, I was not.

Of course, I can never be a live witness to women talking when there isn’t a man in the room. But that was how I felt.

Thankfully, it was captured in HD video which you can play below.

Members of Executive Women in Nonprofits, I thank you for inviting me. My special thanks to leader Holly Koenig.

It was a unique, exhilarating morning.

Thank You: Nonprofit Radio’s Sesquicentennial

July 15, 2013Fundraising Fundamentals, Thank Youcharity, fundraising, non-profit, non-profits, nonprofit, nonprofits, philanthropy, Tony Martignetti Nonprofit RadioTony

Nonprofit Radio’s 150th show was last Friday. I thank you for your support over 3 years!

It was a low-key sesquicentennial. I wasn’t even in the studio. We pre-recorded early last week.

What I’m not low-key about is thanking you for supporting the show by listening; subscribing; retweeting; posting; liking; commenting; and letting me into your inbox each week.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I’m grateful.

We’ve got over 9,000 weekly listeners. They’ve come because you spread the word about the show. Thank you for that. Please don’t stop.

For the 150th, my guests were Beth Kanter on measuring the networked nonprofit, and Maria Semple, with alternatives to Google Alerts.

You can scroll down to the previous post for a link to listen, or take the short cut.

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING TONY MARTIGNETTI NONPROFIT RADIO! I’M GRATEFUL!