I’m sure we can agree the importance of building relationships in all aspects of our lives is important. Whether we are talking about personal or professional relationships, they all make a difference in our lives. The same goes for the relationship built with a nonprofit organization’s donors. One way to start building that connection is by giving more when it comes to the thank you page following a donation. There are a few different ways to enhance the message, so let’s look at them now…
Offer an Authentic and Heartfelt Message
Being authentic and heartfelt doesn’t mean you have to talk a lot on this page… but it does means you should say more than just “thanks for the donation.” By taking a moment how your organization appreciates the donor’s help goes a long way. To help with that message, you can use a quote from an employee or board member… that way they can hear from someone specific about how the donation is making a difference.
What can you do to write a similar message that doesn’t come across as “cheesy” or inauthentic? Think about the ways your donors are helping make a difference by investing in your cause:
- Are you able to have more staff working on your mission?
- Does the donation help build a new facility?
- Aside from helping those being served, is there another way the donation is making a difference?
This is a way for you to talk about how the donor is helping taking care of all sorts of things associated with your cause and how much that means to you and your staff.
Spotlight the Person or Animal Being Helped
What is the focus of your mission? Are you dedicated to help save the panda’s from being extinct? Are you focused on helping little girls get education they might not have had access to before? Whatever is the focus of your organization, there’s a good chance that it can be turned into a story about an individual character.
Once you have your mission turned into a story about a single character, there are a few ways you can tell their story to the donor. One way to do that is showing a picture of the character and telling the donor how their donation helps take care of the character. The more detailed (as much as is appropriate for the work you do) you can get of how the donation helps your character, the more your donor can see how they are making a difference. The more they feel like they are making a big difference, the more likely they are to donate again in the future.
The second way to tell the story of your character is by using video. Similar to writing the story, you can use this as a way to show a picture or have a video of the character saying, “thank you,” and telling how the donor is making real difference for the character.
The third way to tell the story is a combination of the written story and a video. In this case, the picture from the first option is replaced by a video of the character. If the character is a person, this is a great time for them to say something like, “thank you for helping.” If the character is an animal, this is a chance to see clips of the different things done to make their lives better.
Suggest the Next Action for Your Donor
The thank you page people see after they’ve given a donation, can do more than just say “thank you.” In fact, it can encourage one more action from people who have already shown they are interested in taking actions on your website. There are several things that are worth asking your donors after they have invested in your organization.
- Become a Volunteer: In many cases, donors are willing to get involved with the organizations they donate to. Use this time to tell your donor what they can do to volunteer, along with a place for them to tell you they are interested.
- Follow on Social Media: This is a great way to show donors how to keep updated with the information and pictures you post on social media. Be careful to not overwhelm them with a bunch of different buttons. Instead, keep it simple and only pick your best one or two platforms and highlight those.
- Offer a Short Survey: It’s great to understand as much as possible about your donors, but this isn’t the time to make them answer a ton of questions. Instead, ask them only two or three quick questions related to their donation (why they donated, best way to stay connected, how they found you).
- Show Donor Testimonials: Continuing to reassure donors that they made a valuable investment is important. One way to do that is by showing them testimonials from several different donors. It shows them how others, like them, have donated and been happy with the decision.
- Invite to Special Events: Show your appreciation for their donation by telling them about upcoming events they might be interested in attending. It’s a great way to tease upcoming fundraisers and send them to a page that gives all the details they need.
Conclusion
Creating a relationship with your donors is such a valuable thing. By having that relationship, it becomes easier to communicate with them about the things going on inside your organization, as well as ask for their financial support in the future. Something simple to do that helps continue the talk after a donation is to be a little more elaborate with the thank you page. When I say elaborate, I’m not saying “long winded” but rather putting more thought into the message. Some of the ways you can put more time and thought into the thank you page is by putting more time into the message, spotlighting the person or animal you serve and suggesting a next step to take. Remember, these are donors being talked to, so although they are more receptive to your message… make sure to keep it as simple as possible.
