Donors don’t give for the tax deduction. They don’t give for prestige. They give because of how it makes them feel. Good about themselves. Good about being able to help a good cause. And the thank you, or the silence, confirms whether they made the right call.
You need to follow up with people who make donations of any kind to you, your ensemble, or organization. And that follow-up needs to be timely and as personal as possible.
I know this because I’ve been on the wrong end of it. A few years ago I made a substantial-for-me donation to an arts organization. And I didn’t get an acknowledgment. After a couple of weeks I emailed them, not because I expected fanfare, but because tax season was approaching and I wanted to confirm the gift had gone through.
And two friends told me recently they’d each had the same experience with donations they’d made to a prominent music school: radio silence.
You can guess what happened in response.
That goodwill that the donor had when they sent the gift? It evaporates. The donor starts to wonder: if the organization can’t manage a thank you, what else are they dropping? The trust that made the gift possible starts to fall apart.
How to do it right
With my very small first time donation to Bedlam, a small theater co. in NYC, here’s the email acknowledgment I received almost IMMEDIATELY. Yes, it’s an email auto-response but it doesn’t read like the usual canned acknowledgments I’ve received from other donations.
“Dear Angela,
Thank you so much for your generous contribution of $25.00 to Bedlam, Inc. We are so encouraged by your support as we continue to grow our company and create new work.
Your donation will significantly aid in maintaining daily administrative operations, developing new work as well as growing our Veterans Outreach programming. What a gift! We truly can’t thank you enough!
Bedlam is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. All donations are tax deductible. Committed to the immediacy of the relationship between the actor and the audience, Bedlam creates works of theatre that reinvigorate traditional forms in a flexible, raw space, collapsing aesthetic distance and bringing its viewers into direct contact with the dangers and delicacies of life. In this new, fresh, active environment storytelling becomes paramount and the result is a kinetic experience of shared empathy.
Bedlam is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. All donations are tax deductible.
Donation Receipt:
Organization: Bedlam, Inc.
EIN: 80-0784887
No goods or services were provided in exchange for your contribution.
BEDLAM | 603 West 115th Street, Mailbox 130, New York, NY 10025 | www.bedlam.org
That’s all I needed. A thank you. An acknowledgment.
This of course, is helpful for tax purposes, but it’s also personal in its tone: “What a gift! We truly can’t thank you enough!”
The message also reminds me of the community work they do with veterans and it recaps their inspiring mission.
Why do they include this in the thank you? Because it reminds the donor of why they can feel good about giving to this organization.
Which brings me to recap the fundraising secret most musicians never find out.
Donors give their time and money SO THEY CAN FEEL GOOD ABOUT THEMSELVES.
And guess what? It turns out that is a REALLY valuable benefit to get in return.
I guarantee that whatever a donor gives, small or large, the reason they’re doing so is that how the contribution makes them feel is worth more to them than the cost of their donation.
That’s why they do it.
It’s a good deal for the donor, when they are truly invested in the organization, and that organization treats them well in return.
So fundraising is NOT about begging for money. It’s not a one-way transaction between a receiver and a recipient, a ‘have’ and a ‘have not.’
Fundraising is an EXCHANGE OF VALUE.
For the money given, the donor gets to feel good about herself. She feels like she’s making an impact in the world. And she’s deepening her connection with an organization she values and feels a personal connection to.
Back to Bedlam: I go see them whenever they perform in Boston because I love their work. And I’m a fan who feels more connected because I donated and received a thoughtful email in return.
So imagine my surprise when I got a second, more personalized email from Bedlam. This came several days afterwards as their Development Director was clearly digging out after the holidays.
It read . . .
“Dear Angela,
At the end of the year, each of our inboxes is typically inundated with “End of Year Asks” from non profits and I know how overwhelming it can be. We might have supported a few of those organizations in the past and I, for one, always feel compelled to support them all again as best I can, especially as I know how much these organizations rely on that funding. Oh it’s crucial! It most certainly is for Bedlam. Yet I know that it can be prohibitive at times to give to all and so we typically then choose which ones to give to each year.
I wanted to thank you so much for including our small non profit in your giving at the end of the year. Your donation, your attendance, your choice tells us how much you believe in us and we do not ever take it for granted. We make theatre, and we hope you enjoy it, simple. You have helped to give us the opportunity to make more theatre in the new year. Please, please join us once again this year. We so look forward to having you with us.
All our best and most humble thanks,
Susannah”
And if you’re running a one-person operation with no database and no development staff, you’re not off the hook. You’re actually more dependent on this, not less. A handwritten note or a genuine personal email does more than a polished auto-response with no warmth in it.
This doesn’t mean kissing up to people. It simply means saying thank you in timely and meaningful ways. Remind them of why they can feel good about themselves and the difference they are helping make in the world.
If you’d like help making a bigger impact through your music, and you’re curious about receiving expert music career coaching, I’d love to talk. Schedule a time here.
Looking forward,
Dream Big, Plan Smart, Live Well
