The Phone Call That Never Came

I feel a little sheepish writing this. It seems petty. There is a voice in my head saying, “You should not feel this way. Let it go.”

And of course I will let it go. I think. (Add nervous laughter at this point.)

I made a large donation to a non-profit a while back. I will not quantify how large the gift was, but trust me, it was large for me. It was far and away the largest gift I have given to this ministry.

When I wrote the check I felt good. I felt proud about my connection to this organization and my ability to help them. It was a good day.

I waited for the thank you phone call from the CEO. I thought it would take a couple of weeks, but I was patient. I might have even imagined my response to his call. “Well, I was just glad to help. It is an honor to participate in your ministry.”

The phone call never came.

Then I received the tax notification letter at some point. There was not even a personal note.

I made a significant contribution to a non-profit that I believe in—an organization doing good work. And the response from the leadership?

Crickets!

How do I feel? Let me ask you, how would you feel?

But more importantly how do your donors feel? Do they know how thankful you are for them?

Do your donors know that without them your organization would cease to exist? Or do you take them for granted?

That is how I feel. I am not especially proud to admit it, but it is true. I feel taken for granted.

What is your answer to these questions?

·      Do you have a system of acknowledging gifts?

·      What safeguards do you have in place to make sure donations do not slip through the cracks?

·      If someone makes a first time gift, how long does it take for you to call them?

·      If someone makes an unusually large gift, will they get more than a computer generated thank   you note?

Take it from me, you do not want to take your donors for granted.