The Power of a Timely Thank You!

by Mark Dreistadt | Oct 19, 2018 | Fundraising

TAKE ONE

Let’s suppose you were invited to a wedding of a long-time acquaintance. You are excited for your friends and want to do something nice for them, so you go the extra mile and get them an extraordinary wedding gift. After the wedding, you forget about the gift and return to daily life.

But a few months down the road, something triggers your memory and you realize you never received a thank-you. Hmmm…

A year later you receive an invitation from the same couple announcing a baby shower! What are the chances that you will give an extraordinary gift a second time? What are the chances you will give a gift at all?

TAKE TWO

Now let’s suppose you were invited to the same wedding and purchased the same extraordinary gift. Once again, after the wedding, you forgot about the gift and returned to daily life.

But — within a few days you receive a personal note from the couple, who are writing you while still on their honeymoon, telling you how much they like your gift and how meaningful your friendship is to them. Hmmm… nice!

<<Parallel scenarios to the ones described in the first two stories happen every day.>>

TAKE THREE

Let’s suppose you were invited to give a contribution to a ministry you have known about for a long-time. You are excited about the project and want to be part of making a difference, so you go the extra mile and give an extraordinary donation. The next day, you forget about the gift and return to daily life.

But a few months down the road, something triggers your memory and you realize you never received a thank-you. Hmmm…

A year later you receive an invitation from the same organization about another project! What are the chances that you will give an extraordinary gift a second time? What are the chances you will give a gift at all?

TAKE FOUR

Let’s suppose you were invited to give a contribution by the same ministry and you gave the same extraordinary gift. Once again, you forget about the gift and return to daily life.

But — within a few days you receive a personal note from the organization, telling you how much they appreciate your gift and how meaningful your friendship is to them. Hmmm… nice!

A year later you receive an invitation from the same organization about another project! What are the chance that you will give an extraordinary gift a second time?

THE POWER OF A TIMELY THANK YOU…

In the fundraising world a rule of thumb is that the probability of a donor giving you a second gift goes down by 1% each day it takes for them to receive a thank you. In other words, if a donor gives a gift and receives a gift acknowledgement within 10 days, the probability is 90% that they will give again. If a donor gives a gift and receives a gift acknowledgement in 30 days, the probability drops to 70%. The sooner an organization can say thank you – the more donors will stay involved.

We have tested this with various clients over the years.

One of our clients had donor revenue of about $350,000 per month. When we tested the receipting timeline – it took 28 days from when we gave a gift until we were thanked. We found out it took 7-10 days for this ministry to print and mail receipts. We worked with this client until we developed a system for next day turn-around and tested again. The second time it only took 10 days to receive our receipt.

Now watch this… In the months to follow this ministry experienced a phenomenal 30% increase in donor revenue. The only change we made was a timely thank you!

While your results may not be as dramatic as this organization, a timely thank you will definitely make a difference in donor retention and overall giving.

Turning receipts around quickly is a challenge for many ministries and non-profit organizations. That is why Infinity Concepts now provides data entry and receipting services for many of our clients. We make sure the donor thank-you is mailed within 2 business days, taking the burden off of our clients.

Perhaps Infinity Concepts can help your organization express a timely thank you to your donors. Let’s talk!