5 Cool Resources to Help You Say Thank You to Donors

Ahhhh…you made it! End-of-year giving season is behind you and if you are like a lot of my clients and students - you are swimming in the glory of a well run campaign. Congratulations!

And with a well run end-of-year campaign can also come what nonprofits know works, but is often the easiest thing to let slide. What is it? Thanking your donors!

I’m not talking about just any old thank you - but a proper, genuine thank you which is proven over and over again to retain donors and increase downstream gifts. 

But what do you do if you have maybe hundreds of donors to thank in the New Year? Here are 5 cool ways to help you say thank you to your donors (I’m not an affiliate for any of these recs - this is just my honest opinions!:

#1: Handwryttn

I was recently introduced to Handwryttn by one of the best in the biz, Racheli Feldman-Edelkopf of The Pedal Co. who used this service to help streamline thank you notes to donors for a client. They had hundreds of notes to write and only a small team - it would have taken them WEEKS. With Handwryttn, you can type notes (one-by-one or in bulk) but the company uses real ink and AI to mimic handwriting styles. They have a ton of stationary options and best of all? They ship the notes directly. 

If you really want to get out thank you notes to your donors, but have zero clue how you will manage it in a timely way - check out Handwryttn. It might be the resource you’ve been looking for. 

#2: punkpost

If you are lucky enough to be in connection with the team at Austin Angels - then you know how fantastic they are at loving on their people. Nearly every time I speak with this organization - they send me a thank you of some kind. 

Last year, I received the most fun card from punkpost - another online stationery company, but that turns the dial up on the FUN. I received a card like this one in the mail and I literally texted the sender asking, “Did someone hand make this?!” to which they replied, “No, but I’m glad you thought we did 😉”

This might not be the right fit for every single donor, but if you are looking to send a thank you note (that you don’t have to handwrite) that has a LOT of personality (seriously, even the envelope is fun) - check out punkpost. 

#3: Loom

If you’ve been in the Out in the Boons community for any bit of time - you know that I loveeeeee me some Loom. Loom is a free tool that allows you to record video messages that can be emailed to your donors. 

Think of it like the best surprise and delight moment in an inbox.  

Frankly, if you want to build that know, like and trust factor + make your donors happy in a really cost effective way - use Loom. 

…and you’ll stand out. Out of all the gifts I made in 2021 - I can think of ONE organization that sent me a Loom thank you video (thank you Stephanie!) - so you have a real opportunity here to stand out and above the crowd when you use this tool. 

#4: What’s old is new - old fashion hand written notes

It’s true - some things will never go out of style. One of those things is a handwritten thank you note. In case you missed my 2022 fundraising predictions - I think physical mail is going to be huge in 2022 and therefore - thank you notes *could* be huge. I say could because unfortunately, 90% of nonprofit will not go this important mile.

Why are handwritten thank you notes so great? First, because not enough nonprofits are using them. I’m still shocked at the lack of physical mail - solicitation or cultivation pieces I received in 2021. Only 5% of solicitations I received in 2021 came via the mail. Handwritten thank you notes? Even less. 

Second, physical mail still out performs email and social media by a landslide. 

Third, Millenials - an age group just approaching their (ok, our) prime spending years - love mail. In a world where inboxes are full and social media runs wild - be different and show up in people’s mailboxes. 

#5: Video or voice memos in the DMs

It’s no surprise - people are on their phones, like - all the time. It might be your 2022 goal to be off your phone more, but as a fundraiser and marketer I encourage you to meet your people where they are. 

Click the camera or microphone button to send video or voice memos to donors

One of the ways to do that is to thank people in the DMs via a voice or video note - did you know you can do this (see below)? Just press and hold the microphone button or the camera button (see below) and you can send a super customized message to your community members. TBH - a nonprofit has never done this to me before which means - if you jump on it - you will be on the cutting edge of a way to thank folks. Plus, it doesn’t cost any money (except your time). 

The main takeaway? You just spent hours - probably dozens if not hundreds of hours raising money this end of year giving season. The number one way to keep the donors you just worked SO hard to get is to thank them. Do it well.