Your (Not You’re) Welcome

Every year, shortly before Thanksgiving, I make donations to the nonprofit clients I worked with during the year. 

A few of the gifts I made this year were to new client organizations, which made me a first-time donor.

The only things I expect when I make a charitable donation are a thank you and a receipt for tax purposes. So, when one client went above and beyond by sending me a really cool welcome packet, I was delighted.

A few things that stood out were:

• It came in the mail in a large envelope. Snail mail that you actually want to open? Yes, please!

• It was on-brand from the packaging to the swag (a car decal and a screen cleaning cloth with their logo).

• A postcard featuring some of the organization’s “famous firsts” throughout its history.

• A sheet about the impact of philanthropy and how contributed revenue is distributed across the organization.

There was also an info sheet about the institution and a business card for a staff person in annual giving.

One small misstep in my opinion was a QR code that leads to their giving page with encouragement to convert to monthly giving. Personally, I think a thank you should be just that and not include an ask, but for anyone who takes them up on this option, they certainly made it very easy to do.