Do Your Donors Know You Appreciate Them?

In his book, The Friendship Factor, Alan Loy McGinnis tells the story about Birch Foracker, a top executive for the New York Bell Telephone Company.  Mr. Foracker was always looking for ways to express his appreciation to his employees for the ways they contributed to the success of New York Bell.  One bitterly cold winter night, as he and his wife left a New York theater, Boracker spotted a safety barricade surrounding an open manhole in the middle of the street.  Without saying a word to his astonished friends who were with him, Foracker approached the barricade and quickly disappeared down into the manhole.  In about 60 seconds he was back out of the hole and rejoined his friends on the sidewalk.  When they asked him what he had just done, Foracker told them that he simply wanted his employees to know how much he appreciated them and the extremely important work they were doing to keep the phone system working for all their customers.  Foracker was known for doing that sort of thing all the time. 

Sixty seconds was all it took to express sincere appreciation, but the positive results were incalculable.  No wonder his employees loved him and worked so loyally for him.

 Whether you are a leader in a business, a church or a non-profit organization, do your donors know how important they are to you?  Do they know how much you appreciate them?  When was the last time you told them?  Most donors give to a cause they believe in.  Most do not give in order to get recognition or praise.  But a little genuine appreciation goes a long way in keeping donors loyal to a cause in which they believe.  It is well worth the investment of time it takes to find meaningful ways to express that appreciation to them

Do your donors know you appreciate them?