Thanking donors is just as important as asking them. We should have just as much knowledge about how we can make donors feel appreciated and connected as we do about motivating them to give.
Here's a start, at Clairification: 3 Rules for Thanking Nonprofit Donors that Should Never Be Broken.
- Send a letter within 48 hours.
- Personalize your thank you with notes and inserts.
- Pick up the phone.
I have one item to add to the list:
- Thank donors relevantly and specifically. If you asked them to give to feed hungry people, thank them for feeding hungry people. Not for "your support," or something similarly abstract -- that makes it clear you aren't paying attention to the donor's passion -- the reason she was moved to give.
Fundraising should be a relationship, not a transaction.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 30 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you'll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com. 
