<\/p>\n
Every single President of the United States, bar none, has taught me something.<\/p>\n
I learned about public speaking from Presidents Reagan and Clinton.<\/p>\n
The George W. Bush lesson? \u00a0Be really sure the mission is accomplished before paying for a really big banner to hang on an aircraft carrier.<\/p>\n
From his dad? One of the most practical lessons of all.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It’s all about the power of a good old fashioned handwritten note.<\/p>\n
So, it’s the week between Christmas and New Year’s. \u00a0My then six year old twins are in a 1\/2 day ski class. I’m in the lodge.<\/p>\n
Me, some people on crutches and 325 holiday cards for my major donors.<\/p>\n
My Development Director thought it would be a swell idea for me to write a personal note on each of these cards. \u00a0 Now maybe it’s because I’m a Catholic school girl at heart or maybe it’s because I know that in oh so many ways, executive directors work for their Development Directors. \u00a0Not sure. \u00a0But I say yes. \u00a0My notes are legible and in nearly all cases, personal. \u00a0I take that back. \u00a0The notes become slightly less legible after the second Irish coffee (Come on; it’s snowing. \u00a0There’s a fireplace).<\/p>\n
Turns out that our holiday cards arrive to donors the same day another organization’s holiday gifts arrive. \u00a0Coffee mugs. \u00a0I’m thinking – oh dear, I’m so AAA and that is so major league. \u00a0Until I began to get thank you notes from donors who give to both organizations.<\/p>\n
I can’t remember whether the notes were more about how lovely the personal touch was or to thank me for not sending them yet another coffee mug.<\/p>\n
Doesn’t much matter.<\/p>\n
A few simple steps can make your thank you note memorable.<\/p>\n
1) Do not. \u00a0I repeat. \u00a0Do not mistake a thank you email for the real thing. \u00a0 Thank you notes are a way to connect personally with your donor. \u00a0They are about relationships. \u00a0Emails are about transactions.<\/p>\n
2) Make the card count. \u00a0Time to ditch the blank thank you notes. \u00a0Try this. \u00a0Go to cartoonbank.com and select funny and relevant cartoons, several different ones for different stakeholders. \u00a0Order them as notecards. \u00a0 There may cheaper means to the same end but here is the point: \u00a0relevant humor is sticky. \u00a0AND it takes the heat off of being clever in the note itself.<\/p>\n
3) Send it Fast. \u00a0Really Fast. \u00a0My assistant would address an envelope in the a.m. for every donor meeting I had. \u00a0Yes, he was very busy but very motivated because he saw the difference. \u00a0 I spent 3 minutes when I got back to the office and wrote the note. \u00a0The information was all still fresh in my head. \u00a0The aging dog, the new Subzero (why do people buy them when all they do is complain about them?), the huge gift the prospect just made to her alma mater and, if no gift, memorialize the next steps.<\/p>\n
4) Postmark it that very same day.<\/p>\n
When you take a little extra time to make it a real and personal contact. When you send a donor a message that acknowledges that she is more than just a checkbook.<\/span><\/p>\n Take the time to be thoughtful and generous. \u00a0Your stakeholders who give time and treasure deserve nothing less.<\/p>\n \n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When is a thank you note not just a thank you note? When you get a thank you note for your thank you note.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":596321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,17,16,42,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-592413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-board","category-fundraising","category-ceo","category-relationships","category-senior-staff"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n