Tag Archives: gratitude

How to Be Thankful To Your Supporters

Posted on by
Reply

With Thanksgiving arriving next week in the US, it’s a great time to think about gratitude, especially to constituents who are long term supporters of your nonprofit.  Here’s some easy actions you can take now:

  1. Do something special for those who have supported your organization for many years, even if their gifts aren’t considered ‘major.’  In my view, regularity of donations is as important as larger contributions which arrive less frequently.  Make sure you segment out these loyal donors so you can customize your messaging communications.
  2. Say thank you without necessarily asking for another donation.  Describe a recent accomplishment that has been made possible by the constituent’s gift.
  3. Ask supporters in what channels and how often they want to be communicated with – and then respect these preferences.  Sometimes I get so many solicitations from organizations I support that after a while, I stop paying attention – especially if they all come through direct mail (I prefer online)
  4. Make it personal – ask board members or staff to acknowledge and thank contributors through recognition at events, brief phone calls or personalized emails / letters
  5. Review auto replies that are sent when an online donation is received – and then send additional thanks through other channels (even a well written auto reply is still an auto reply)

And don’t forget to thank your nonprofit staff, who probably earn less money for more hours than if they worked in the for profit sector, and your board members, who are giving their valuable time (and money) to help your cause.  Expressing appreciation costs nothing, so why not make it a practice year-round – not just at Thanksgiving.

A Few Words About Gratitude

Posted on by
1

Some of us may see Thanksgiving as the beginning of a long break from work.  Others may want to get a jump on holiday shopping by seeking out ‘Black Friday’ deals at stores or online.  Clearly this is a big ‘eating’ holiday, whether you spend it with family or with close friends.  But in my view, this is really not what the holiday is about.

If you work with a nonprofit, you’ve probably already started your year end fundraising campaign. Instead of focusing on the timing and wording of your solicitations, remember to thank your donors for their support, and tell them how their contributions have helped to benefit your constituents.  Also make the effort to appreciate your colleagues at your organization who work so hard year-round to support you and your nonprofit’s cause.

If you work for an organization that provides a product or service for nonprofits, thank your clients for having entrusted you to achieve their important work.  And take the time to fully understand how they serve their supporters so you can be an even better partner.

If you are in between jobs, don’t focus on how difficult it is to find your next position. Instead, be thankful that you have a roof over your head, you have people who care about you and you have enough to eat from day to day.  Many others are not so fortunate.

If you know someone who is alone or who is going through a difficult time, reach out to spend time with them during the upcoming holidays.

Take the time every day to be thankful for what you already have, not only on Thanksgiving.  It can make all the difference, no matter what your current situation is.

No Time for Complaints

Posted on by
1

With the recent doom and gloom in financial markets, reading the Wall Street Journal has  been depressing lately as the bad news accumulates. At a staff meeting at my nonprofit organization lately, our president tried to put a positive spin on our prospects even though we had to lay off staff earlier this year – as have many other large nonprofits across the US. I find myself working longer hours to keep my work current, as are most of my colleagues. With our savings seeming to decline each day, how can we avoid negativity?

In the same Wall Street Journal that has documented the financial crisis was an article this week From Attitude to Gratitude: This Is No Time for Complaints.   Despite the abundance of bad news, many of us who still have our jobs are “finding reasons to be appreciative.”  As has happened in my nonprofit, we’re being asked to take unpaid furloughs to avoid larger cutbacks.   We’re also feeling grateful that we still have our jobs (many others don’t) and are “finding reasons to be appreciative.”  I’ve already read Will Bowen’s wonderful book A Complaint Free World, and have ordered Jon Gordon’s  The No Complaining Rule, which specifically deals with reducing negativity at work.

What can we do to survive at our nonprofits during these turbulent times?

  1. Will Bowen advises us to pledge to stop complaining, criticizing and gossiping.  Minimize contact with colleagues who constantly talk about how hard things are.   Instead, be the person who points out what’s good.
  2. Use this time as an opportunity to roll out online strategies to reduce costs, such as replacing paper newsletters with enewsletters and making more use of web / phone conferences to minimize travel expenses
  3. Find ways to help others to deal with stress and increased work loads.  Understand that if someone seems a bit cranky with you, it may because they are struggling to get their projects done.
  4. Keep reaching out to constituents, even if they aren’t able to sustain the level of financial contributions they have in the past.  There may be other ways they can help.
  5. Find a way to vent your feelings, but go easy on your spouse.  My wife surprised me yesterday by pointing out that I have often frequently complained about problems at work, even when I thought I was staying positive.  Focus on what you have to be thankful for, not on what’s wrong.

The Wall Street Journal article ends by asking us to “write down three things we’re grateful for every day,” even if sometimes you can only come up with basics such as “oxygen, food and shelter.”  When an individual deals with depression, it feels like things will never be any different.  It’s important to keep in mind that although we’re not sure when conditions will improve, things will get better.  And as many self-help books I’ve read over the years have repeated, it’s not the situation that causes grief, it’s how you deal with it.

Let’s also be grateful that we work in the nonprofit sector, where we can see the benefits of what we do for our constituents on a daily basis.