Gift Receipting

Hi @Carol Mycio!

My team spends a “medium” amount of time trying to identify these donors. It's worth digging in and trying to find some way to reach out and thank the donor. I'm less worried about a proper receipt/acknowledgment letter and more focused on thanking the donor and (hopefully) entering them into our donor database. I have two reasons why we do this:

• The first reason we reach out is because, selfishly, I hope to be able to get another gift from this person in the future. Colleen Dilenschneider has a great blog. Easily my favorite blog post of hers is titled “Why Do People Stop Giving Money to Cultural Organizations”. In short, they surveyed people who had previously given $250 - $2,500 and then did not donate again within the next 24 months. Dilenschneider's organization asked why those donors chose not to make a second donation. Way out in front, the number one reason: they were “not acknowledged/thanked for previous gift.” Number two is that they were "not asked to donate again." And number three is a “lack of communication about use of funds/results of gifts.” Those are all things within our control. So the goal for my team is to make sure the donor feels appreciated and excited about their giving. And we try to communicate the impact of their gift (or how the gift was/will be put to use).
  
  https://www.colleendilen.com/2016/04/20/why-donors-stop-giving-money-to-cultural-organizations-data/
  
  
• The second reason we try to find these donors is because you never know what that might lead to. We had a person give through our Amazon Wishlist. Just gave some items to our organization. All we received from Amazon is a name. I did some research on the person and realized that they have a capacity to give a much larger gift. We reached out to thank them. And we invited them to an event. We've continued to cultivate this donor. This has led to a modest (and appreciated) cash gift. We are hoping to work toward that larger gift. And it all started because they bought $75 in supplies off our Amazon Wish List.
  

I will note that I wrote “medium” amount of time/effort. I think there is a limit where, even if I felt that it was worth my time, it might be weird to reach out to the donor. Like if I can't reasonably explain how I have their contact information. It doesn't serve us if we creep the donor out. So I try to know that limit.

Chris ?