Imagine this scenario: You discover a new nonprofit in your community, learn more about their mission, and decide to make a quick donation.
Then: crickets. As the end of the year rolls around, you realize you never heard from that nonprofit again. No acknowledgment letter, no social media shoutout, not even a simple thank-you email, and certainly not a spot on their donor recognition display.
What are the odds you continue to support that nonprofit next year? If you’re like most donors, we’re guessing pretty low. In fact, poor communication and a lack of recognition are a leading cause of low donor retention rates.
In order to engage and retain donors, your nonprofit needs a donor recognition strategy.
What is donor recognition?
Donor recognition is the systematic practice of acknowledging supporters’ contributions to your organization. A wide variety of activities and items can serve the purpose of donor recognition, but throughout any kind of program, you’ll want to emphasize your nonprofit’s appreciation for the donor and the impact they’ve had on your mission.
Why is donor recognition important?
When donors don’t feel like their gifts are appreciated or meaningful, they’ll be less likely to give again. Fortifying your donor recognition practices will help your nonprofit cultivate stronger connections with supporters and increase your donor retention rate.
Here at Eleven Fifty Seven, we specialize in experiential design via donor recognition walls and other meaningful displays. Over the years, we’ve helped hundreds of nonprofits develop donor recognition solutions that honor their story and their supporters.
Along the way, we’ve learned some useful ideas and best practices that any nonprofit can use to establish an effective donor recognition plan.
In this article, we’ll walk through some useful recommendations for donor recognition, covering these main topics:
Top 13 Donor Recognition Ideas
Donor Recognition Best Practices
Creating a Donor Recognition Plan
By recognizing your donors, you can create long-lasting relationships that will power your work for years to come. First, we’ll walk through a list of some donor recognition strategies with a proven track record of success. Let’s dive in.
2. Acknowledgment Letters and Thank You Notes
No matter the size, every gift to your nonprofit should be recognized. One of the simplest ways to accomplish this is by sending a thank-you note immediately following each donation. You can automate this process via email or go old-school and send meaningful handwritten notes in the mail. Both options have their benefits: email is the more efficient route, but a handwritten note adds a powerful personal touch.
A favorite middle ground, however, is sending out printed mailings. These have the benefit of providing donors with a physical reminder of your organization and the mission they support while also breaking through the never-ending clutter online. Plus, they’re simpler and less time-consuming than handwritten messages—especially when you partner with a direct mail platform to handle the bulk of the work.
Whatever you decide, make sure the letter expresses your gratitude, explains how the gift impacted your mission, and offers a path to further engagement.
3. Appreciation Video
An appreciation video is an engaging and entertaining way to recognize donors. In the video, you’ll want to acknowledge donors’ generosity and share the work that their gifts have made (and will continue to make) possible.
If your staff, volunteers, or beneficiaries are camera-shy, you can create an animated video with graphics and text about your work. This kind of content is extremely shareable on social media, so as an added bonus, a recognition video can help you expand your reach. Or for a more conversational approach, have your organization’s executive director take a selfie-style video thanking your donors for their support.
One of our partners, ThankView, offers an efficient and powerful platform for sending personalized videos. For more information about this donor recognition video solution, contact our team.
If you’re planning a capital campaign for a new project like expanding your facility, a recognition plaque can help you dedicate the space to your supporters. Be sure to hold an unveiling ceremony when you are ready to share your new space with your community!
Additionally, you can embed the content from your digital display on your nonprofit’s website for a fully virtual donor recognition experience. This is especially critical right now, when your facility may be inaccessible to visitors due to social distancing guidelines.
8. Phone Calls
A one-on-one phone conversation is a simple but powerful donor recognition method. While it’s not the fastest communication method, the sincere connection created by a phone call is well worth the extra investment of time and effort.
To conduct these calls in a time-effective way, consider recruiting volunteers, board members, or even beneficiaries to make the calls. While you’ll want to provide a script with a few options for talking points, the main goal of the call should just be to speak from the heart and express appreciation.
11. Social Media Shoutouts
Use Facebook and other social media platforms to share your gratitude for supporters with the world. Depending on the size of your nonprofit and the number of donors you’re trying to recognize, you can opt for highlighting all donors, a small list of major donors, or your donor base as a whole. Here are just a few ideas for shouting out your donors on social media:
Host a livestream during a big campaign and thank donors for their contributions as they come in.
Retweet or share supporters’ posts if they upload pictures or post about your organization.
Run an ongoing campaign like #ThankYouThursday, appreciating a new supporter each week to keep up the momentum of generosity
Each of these ideas will help you recognize your donors in a meaningful way as well as provide a steady stream of valuable, engaging content to your feed.
Creating a Donor Recognition Plan: 8 Steps
Building a strategic donor recognition strategy requires more thought and consideration than simply choosing one of the ideas on this list and blazing ahead.
After all, the end goal of a donor recognition program isn’t simply to thank donors. It’s a means of fostering engagement, building relationships, and improving the odds that donors will maintain their ties with your nonprofit for years to come.
Therefore, your organization must understand and define your specific stewardship goals, determine what type of donor recognition strategy is best suited to achieve them, and evaluate whether or not it worked.
