Do Incentives Work?

Posted by: Jill Steward, Event360

People love free stuff. In fact, they love free stuff so much they’ll do just about anything to get it. In some cases, it doesn’t even matter what the stuff is — as long as it’s free.

So what does this mean to organizations that rely on people to give their time and effort — even physical endurance in some cases — to raise money and generate awareness for their missions? Can free stuff (based, of course, on attaining certain benchmarks) be the carrot that motivates people to support your cause? It depends.

For the record, we’re not denying that fundraising incentives can work — and work well. We’ve seen this approach benefit a number of our clients who’ve offered fundraisers everything from water bottles to flat-screen TVs to tiny little buttons for accomplishing clearly established goals. (The latter, surprisingly, being among the most successful.) We often find ourselves working with third-party vendors that provide excellent services to those who choose to go this route.

But here’s the rub: Keep in mind that everything you do is a means to end, and sometimes short-term “wins” may not help you down the line. There are a number of issues to consider before taking the fundraising incentive leap.

First, ask yourself if you’re doing everything possible to communicate (and communicate frequently!) the importance of your mission and the importance of the dollars that your event participants will fundraise. Are you arming participants with fundraising tools and case messaging that they need to approach their potential donors? In our experience, we’ve found that most participants fundraise (or fundraise more) not because they were offered a prize, but because 1) they were asked to fundraise, and/or 2) they were given the tools to help them do the asking. Thus, prizes are no substitute for frequent, compelling mission messaging and fundraising tips and tools. If the messaging around your mission doesn’t resonate with your participants and volunteers to begin with, address that first. Adding or leading with “more compelling” messages about prizes will, at best, only return short-term results.  You might see a spike in participation and fundraising from a fundraising incentive program, but will these people stay committed to your cause and continue their efforts long-term? Not likely.

Also, make sure you ask yourself how a fundraising incentive program will promote and support your mission — or, will it distract from and overshadow it? Sometimes, giveaways can develop a life and power of their own, with participants focusing more on the stuff and less on your cause. Think about the Publishers Clearing House sweepstakes. We all know about the multi-million dollar giveaways — but do you know what Publishers Clearing House does? Me neither. You don’t want people losing sight of your mission.

Finally, don’t forget to take a hard look at your resources and infrastructure to determine whether your staff has the time to plan, execute and fulfill a fundraising incentive initiative. Or, can your budget include outside help if needed? These programs are not cheap, and if you’re like most nonprofits, your finances are always top of mind.

So, before trying a fundraising incentive plan, make sure you’ve done everything you can to use fundraising for mission (and the good that you feel!) as the reward itself. If you are communicating frequently about mission and fundraising and are seeing a plateau in results, then it may be time to consider a prize program. But, make sure it doesn’t overshadow your mission and that you have the resources it takes to get the job done. In considering all of the pieces, you may determine that it’s not the right approach for your organization. Either way, keep communicating passionately about your cause — because increased awareness naturally attracts participants and volunteers who feel that simply helping is its own prize.

A Perfect Thank You

By: Katya Andresen, Katya's Non-profit Marketing Blog

My favorite nonprofit, A Wider Circle, set me a thank-you letter this weekend.  It started with the following quote.

“I truly appreciate everything you have given my family.  The household items aside, it’s the hope, the faith, the trust, and the reassurance that kind, caring and loving people still do exist.  I used to be the one that donated the clothes, the canned goods, and volunteered my time.  But here I was having to rely on the same from others.  It’s going to be a struggle for a while but we’re keeping our faith and staying strong.”  It was from Raeleen, mother of two, whose home was fully furnished by A Wider Circle.

This has all the hallmarks of a wonderful acknowledgement:
It’s heartfelt, it’s original, it’s emotional and it’s tangible.  And better, yet, it’s got the right messenger.

The inclusion of the words of someone helped by my donation is powerful, authentic and moving.  Not to mention relatable.  How many of us have had moments where we are reluctant to ask for help and understand the vulnerability that accepting it entails?  I not only understand the difference I made, I think I understand something of the person I helped.

I hope this inspires you, because there is no greater gift to a donor than a story of how they helped.

And if you’re stuck, here’s my template for a great thank-you.

Dear _________________   (use donor’s name, spelled correctly)

First: Don’t start with the typical “thank you for your donation!” Start with a vivid image or mini story of what the donor made possible, like the example in this post!

Second: Say thank you and give the donor credit for the impact of the donation and/or the specific program(s) supported.

Third: Express gratitude for the specific gift amount, noting the date and including any language on tax deductibility.

Fourth: Tell the donor when and how you’ll be in touch to let them know more about what their gift is accomplishing.  Include contact information – your email, phone and website – so they can stay in touch or reach out if they wish.

Closing: Thank them again and sign a real person’s name. If this is a mailed letter, include a PS with a nice added detail about a resource where they can find out more about the difference you are making because of their gift.

Scout Event Sites Virtually

Post by: Jake Geiger, Event 360

Scouting sites for an event can be a time-consuming and expensive process, especially if you're entering a new or unfamiliar market. Fortunately, you have virtual scouting on your side.

In their February blog, Sarah Coniglio and Patrick Riley mentioned how Google Earth can help with site scouting. Today, I'd like to give you a more in-depth look at Google Earth, other tools we use for virtual scouting at Event 360, and what goes into this process.

Getting Started
First of all, make sure you have a footprint of the event site, basic site needs/requirements and possible restrictions. Having this information will help you identify sites that will work best with your event. Also, be sure your computer has the processing speed and strong Internet connection that many mapping programs require.

Next, choose a mapping program. It may be beneficial to use a few programs because they all have different attributes that lend themselves well to scouting virtually. I tend to use a combination of these tools:

• Google Earth: a great measurement tool, integrated with Street View
• Google Maps: a more up-to-date Street View
• Bing Maps: a great Birds-Eye View

Put Your Tools to Work
Start using your tools by surveying the satellite imagery and pinpointing key sites that match your event criteria. You may find it helpful to have a 1-5 rating system (e.g. 1 = an ideal choice, 5 = doable if necessary). Google Earth pushpins can be placed at sites of interest and stored in a folder.

Using certain Google Earth tools can let you make measurements with good accuracy. For instance, let's say you have multiple tents ranging from 20' x 40' to 100' x 200'. Use the Google Earth line tool to measure out your footprint to see if the chosen site will work.

Next, go to Street View for as close of a look at the site as you could possibly get without being there. Street View can help you discover obstacles — e.g. light poles, uneven surfaces — that may affect your site layout and are typically difficult to see in satellite imagery.  

Two other notes about Google Earth:

• Many Street View images are more up-to-date than satellite images.
• Street View images are available for most major cities. If that's not the case for your city, try using Bing Maps' Bird’s-Eye View to get the closest perspective possible.

Final Steps
When evaluating a particular site, be sure to look at it from all cardinal directions. The satellite imagery can change and give you more recent images depending on your perspective.

After you've used a program to identify, label and prioritize your sites, visit them in person. This always should be the final step in a comprehensive scouting process.

Virtual scouting can help you save time and money when scouting sites. Better yet, it assures you're thoroughly surveying a geographical landscape and not missing out on any viable sites. As a result, you'll be uncovering the best possible site options — and ultimately helping to create the best possible event experience for participants.

Inspiration

"Don't just ask people to participate in your event, inspire them to help you make the world a better place."

The Rise of the Slacktivist

If too small, see the original here.

How to Write a Mission Statement

Stressin' Over Your Event Goals?

Does your event goal have you thinking…ugh?

Posted by Amy Braiterman 

If so, no worries, we’ve all felt that the feeling of “ugh… followed by one question… how am I ever going to raise that?”

Here’s my trick.  Forgot about the overall fundraising goal and instead create monthly goals for yourself. Fundraising is a lot like weight loss. Trying to lose 20 pounds can be overwhelming and frustrating.  Nutritionists and trainers will always tell you to stop focusing on your total goal and focus on weekly goals.  Stop thinking about 20 pounds and focus on losing 2 pounds, with the right plan 2 pounds will become 20.

Fundraising works the same way.  Instead of focusing on your $100,000 event goal, ask yourself what do I need to raise this month to eventually reach my goal?

A good way to answer this question is to look at last year’s revenue report.  You’ll notice several revenue peaks and valleys.  For example if you’re event is Oct 1^st, then August and September are your most profitable pre-event months.  And, maybe you ran fundraising contest in May, which makes May another peak month. Below is a sample breakdown of last year’s event revenue.  I’ve included the month, event activity and amount raised.

April	May	June	July	August	September	October
Event Reg Opens	Fundraising contest			Fundraising contest	Fundraising contest	EVENT!
$2,000	$10,000	$5,000	$5,000	$20,000	$25,000	$33,000

Now that you have a breakdown of what you raised per-month last year, you can use this as a guide for this year.  The bulk of the revenue is going to be raised in the last few months leading up to the event. Instead of just waiting around till August for the dollars to roll in, begin brainstorming ideas for increasing April-July revenue.  What activities or contests can you run in the early months to encourage fundraising? 

Maybe have a team captain only event at your office, make it exclusive so team captains feel special and appreciated.  At the event, spend time teaching team captains about team building and motivating team members to fundraise. Or, how about a special Early Bird fundraising contest?  Create a 4 week contest and at the end of the contest, raffle off a big prize.  Usually big prizes are given away closer to the event, but make your Early Birds feel special by offering them exclusive opportunities.

Tip: It’s often not what you’re giving away that will get an individual excited, but it’s how you market the giveaway.  Whether we want to admit it or not, we all want that exclusive invite or that special prize.  It’s human nature. Use this to your advantage when creating text for your website, emails and social network posts.

If your team recruitment goals have you stressed.  Use this same method for team recruitment.  Breaking down large numbers into more manageable goals can help alleviate some of the stress that comes with fundraising.

This trick always helped me.  Once I was able to stop stressing about my revenue goals, I was able to get creative and have fun.  We spend a ton of time at work, so make it fun.  I would not only create contests for my participants, but for myself as well.  Maybe I’ll share those on another post.

Morale of the post is: don’t stess.  It doesn’t help anyone.  Instead of stressing about your goals, focus on creating a plan to achieve your goals.

Do You Make These 4 Big Fundraising Mistakes?

By: Tri-Point Fundraising

Even intelligent, hardworking, well-intentioned fundraisers make mistakes from time to time.

We all do.

Here are four big ones to watch out for:

Mistake #1: Treating All Donors the Same

Do you wish that donors would treat your organization like the most important charity? If so, you should be treating them like your most important donor. That doesn’t mean sending generic form letters (either appeals or thank yous).

How can you treat your donors as individuals?

• Segment and personalize as much as possible. Have different letters for first time donors, for board members, for repeat donors, and for lapsed donors. Write personal notes whenever possible.
• Have a VIP, red-carpet plan for your best donors. Contact them (by email, phone, hand-written note, and in-person) with updates throughout the year. Invite them to your events and on tours.
• Find out why your best donors give to your organization. Try to understand their motivations for giving to your specific cause.

Mistake #2: Ignoring Lapsed Donors

Lapsed donors are former donors. They might have lapsed by one, two, or three years. It’s important to try to renew them as soon as possible. The longer they lapse, the more difficult it will be to get them to give again.

Once a donor lapses for a year or two, many organizations write them off. If you can, contact them to try to find out why they lapsed. If they moved out of the area or are no longer interested in your cause, you can take them off your list.

Often, reaching out to lapsed donors will result in another gift. Securing donations from lapsed donors is much easier than starting from scratch with non-donors. This is because lapsed donors have a history with your organization and already have a familiarity with your programs and services.

If you have a huge number of lapsed donors to deal with, select the ones who have lapsed for the least amount of time (two years or less), and/or those who have given several times in the past (not just one-time donors).

Mistake #3: Not Knowing Key Fundraising Stats

Specifically, this means not knowing your donor acquisition, donor attrition and donor retention rates.

Donor acquisition is the number of new donors you attract. Donor attrition measures the number of donors you lose each year (become lapsed). And donor retention is the number of donors you keep from year-to-year.

There are many fundraising statistics to keep track of. However, donor acquisition, attrition and retention are three of the most important stats. It’s crucial to know how many new donors you attract, how many donors you lost, and how many you kept on an annual basis. Without knowing these three things, you won’t know if your fundraising program is growing or shrinking.

So if you haven’t been tracking these things, today is a perfect day to start.

Mistake #4: Relying Too Heavily on Your Board

Do you rely on your board members to bring in most of your new donors?

You may wish for board members to constantly funnel names of wealthy, prospective donors your way, but too often it doesn’t happen that way. Don’t mope about it — instead, spend your time doing your part to attract new donors.

How do you attract new donors?

There are many simple things you personally can do to bring in new donors.

I (along with eleven other leading fundraising experts) was recently asked for several out-of-the-box ways you could get 100 new donors in just three months. All twelve of these recorded conversations have been combined with detailed action guides into a program called 100 Donors in 90 Days.

To give you an idea of how helpful thes simple strategies can be, Tom Ahern (one of the fundraising experts) presented a case study based on a letter written by a volunteer for a small town library. She was a novice fundraiser who had never written a direct mail appeal before in her life. But she had taken one of Tom’s workshops — one very similar to the first week’s session of 100 Donors in 90 Days.


She raised $56,000 in a matter of weeks with that one letter.


Tom’s teleseminar and action guide alone are worth the price of 100 Donors in 90 Days. Take a few minutes to check it out and see what it’s all about. I think you’ll be very impressed!

Which Social Network Should I Use?

(View the original here).

The five words that made women give 20% more

By: Katya Andresen

The philanthropic psychologist Jen Shang has a new fundraising study out with the public radio station WFIU in Bloomington, and it shows that five words tied to moral qualities prompt higher giving levels.

Here’s how the study worked.  During the station’s pledge drive, the people answering phones thanked people for calling and randomly picked two of five words associated with moral identity to describe the caller: caring, friendly, kind, compassionate and helpful.  For example: People said, “Thanks for calling and becoming a kind and caring WFIU donor” right before they asked the amount the caller wanted to give. Female donors gave significantly more—21% more—when they heard those adjectives.  Interestingly, with male donors, it made no difference.

I think most best practices are not gender specific, like telling a compelling story, making your cause relatable or appealing to emotion.  But moral identity is apparently another matter.

According to Shang, most charities find their donors are two-thirds female, so the implications are the technique could increasing the gift sizes of two-thirds of donors.  She is now testing this effect in direct mail, and she said in a Chronicle of Philanthropy interview that she believes she will obtain the same result.

The researchers also surveyed donors and found the more that women give, the smaller the gap between their ideal and actual moral identity.  In other words, donating money helps them achieve their moral ideals, said Shang.  Doing good feels good.

Shang believes the results of this study are reliable and transferable to other causes, so this may be worth testing in your nonprofit’s marketing and fundraising outreach.

7 Steps to Increase Your Open Rates

7 Ways to get better response rates to your e-news

By: Katya Andresen

Blog reader Marla Grant of the Florida Blood Services Foundation recently sent me a copy of her newsletters (you can see them here), which are chock-a-block with great stories. She was wondering how to increase donations through this email outreach, and kindly agreed to my sharing my advice as a post.

Here are my 7 ideas for better response rates.

1. Have a subject line that makes you want to read more.  My friend Kivi Leroux Miller talks about bad subject lines being a wrapper (example: September Diabetes eNews) and good subject lines being the candy in the wrapper (example: 6 ways to manage your diabetes).  Make it interesting, so people open the message in the first place.

2. Start with story that’s compelling and relevant to the reader.  Here is where Marla’s organization is hitting it out of the park.  Her newsletters are full of moving stories that are personal and highly relevant to the reader.  But there are a lot of them!  Which brings me to my next point…

3. Say less.  A lot less.  An e-newsletter needs to be far, far shorter than what you’d send in print.  Anything over 500 words is really pushing it, in my view.  If you must have multiple stories, just provide the first part of each and link to the rest.  Remember, people tend to be in a hurry in their inbox and they skim more than they read.  The newsletters Marla sent have great content - but so much of it, it’s hard to absorb and unclear where to focus first.  I’m speaking from experience. The number one compliment I get on this blog from people who subscribe via email is that it’s short, with one main concept each time.  (I take this as a compliment!)

4. Go easy on the eyes.  Just as you want to be short and sweet in email, you want to go easy on the eyes—go for uncluttered, easy to read messages.  Too many articles and sidebars and buttons and images will overwhelm the reader and lower your conversion rates drastically.

5. Ask for one thing.  Be clear about the purpose of each piece of email outreach.  Is it a thank-you full of stories of change and transformation?  Is it a fundraising appeal?  Is it to inspire involvement in an event?  You want your e-news to have a focus and one clear call to action.  Tightly sticking to a theme and reducing the options for action to one (or at most two) will boost response rates.  Too many options, just like too much information, really hurts conversion.

6. Ask explicitly. Are you directly and clearly asking for action? A Donate button off to the side isn’t enough if the goal of the e-news is to raise money.  Ask in the text too.

7. Provide multiple, obvious links for the same action.  Make it incredibly easy for people to act by including links throughout the text and on buttons.  The more obvious, the better the conversion.
Good luck!

Fundraising Incentives - What works?

Fundraising Incentive Programs – The Carrot and its Many Forms Throughout the years, I’ve watched organizations struggle repeatedly with the question of what incentives to offer their participants in order to get them to fundraise (or fundraise more). At this point, I feel like I’ve seen it all, from water bottles to jewelry to salad spinners to flat-screen TVs. And I’ve observed how participants respond (good and bad) to what was offered to them — through surveys, focus groups, and simply watching their reactions as they pick up their “rewards.” If the hats and toasters you’ve been offering to participants haven’t quite moved the fundraising needle as far as you would have liked, or if you haven’t offered incentives but know that it’s a good next step in your fundraising strategy, this is the blog post for you!  So, without further ado, here are three insights to help you determine which “carrot” is best to dangle in front of your participants: 1. Don’t underestimate the power of recognition.  The military uses a very effective incentive model that features the awarding of medals. And similarly, the Girl Scouts use patches. It’s not that the medals or patches have anymonetary value — but the recognition that comes along with it is perceived to be priceless. In the world of fundraising, we’ve seen this kind of incentive system work better than any other — hands down. For one client, we developed a recognition program that awards tiny 1” buttons to participants who reach certain fundraising milestones. We found participants were thrilled when they received their $3K button and were even more excited if they were able to claim a $5K or $10K pin (which have identical actualvalue as the $3K pins, but have an even higher perceived value). This recognition approach is attractive for a number of reasons. Compare it to giving away a high actual-value flat-screen TV (which we see offered a lot). The pin costs you close to nothing, it can be easily topped as further goals are achieved ($3K becomes $5K becomes $10K) and, most important, it’s a badge of honor that gives fundraisers a way to brag about their commitment to your mission. It is for this last reason that we’ve seen people literally wait in lines to get such a reward. So, before you jump into an expensive prize program know that recognition program methods work and are usually more cost-effective. 2. The more unique, the more desirable. If you’re already implementing a recognition program and/or your participants tend to be more motivated by “stuff,” there are several things you can do to pack the mostperceived value into the stuff you are offering. The following will increase the uniqueness of your incentive, thus making it more valuable and desirable: Brand it. Adding your logo to an item makes it unique. Just make sure it can’t be purchased at your event or online store. (If a participant has to fundraise $200 to get it, but they can buy it for $20, guess what they’ll do?) Make it commemorative. Making anything in limited quantities or for a limited time only increases the value. Adding the event year to the item instantly makes it a commemorative item and sends a message that says, “come back again and collect them all.” Offer special access/opportunity. Leverage your relationships with sponsors and board members to offer unique experiences that only you can offer! Does one of your board members own a restaurant where you could host a top fundraiser dinner? Could your media sponsor offer a behind-the-scenes tour of the studio? 3. Be sensitive to relevancy. This concept of relevancy is pretty straightforward. I think it’s fair to guess that iPods and flat-screen TVs, while cool, are most likely unrelated to your event activity, let alone your mission. Instead, think water bottles for endurance athletes, branded picture frames for team events, and fine-dining gift certificates for gala goers. It’s really up to your own creativity (and perhaps your relationships with prize donors and third-party incentive companies like Turnkey and Summit) to decide what might make the most sense. It’s important to keep in mind that while products can’t embody your mission, they can do damage by reflecting poorly upon your organization. For example, consider that giving away unhealthy food to runners raising money for a health-related issue might make you seem out of out touch. A fully-paid trip to an ultra-luxury resort when you’re raising money to combat poverty might be perceived as insensitive to the people your organization is trying to help. Giving away electronics that aren’t donated by a sponsor may upset participants when they realize that the organization is covering the cost. In the end, a little awareness and sensitivity goes a long way. Keep in mind that you can’t please, or motivate, everyone with incentives — no matter how big or flavorful the carrot. So, that said, be sure to always give participants the ability to opt-out of receiving an incentive. And, to help you deal with those participants who do want their incentive, tune in for part three of this series where we’ll discuss efficient reward distribution. (Part one examined what you should consider before implementing fundraising incentive programs.) Jill Stewart is a Fundraising Consultant at Event 360. With 12 years of event fundraising experience, she has developed, executed, and managed robust, award-winning fundraising and communications programs for major non-profit organizations across the country. Jill holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Purdue University and a Certificate in Fundraising Management from The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Turning a No into a Yes

Asking for Donations: When Does “No” Mean “No”?

March 29, 2012 by Tri Point Fundraising

You’ve prepared. You’ve practiced. You’ve overcome your fear of asking for a donation. So you make the ask and they say “no.” But how do you know when “no” really means “no”? I tell my kids “no” all the time. Yet, it doesn’t stop them from asking again, and again, and again. They do this for a variety of reasons, but mostly becasue they’ve learned that sometimes “no” turns into “yes” if they ask frequently and persistently enough. So how come as adults, we’re much more likely to take an initial no as a final no? Turning a “No” into a “Yes” In fundraising, some of the best development directors are those who can take a “no” and turn it into a “yes.” When you get a “no” for whatever reason, your job is to ask why? That’s the most important question you can ask. Get to the core reason, and explore if there’s a way to turn the “no” into “yes.” Before asking a prospective donor for a contribution, you’ll want to consider all of their possible responses, so you’re prepared to respond appropriately. In general, there are three types of response:       1. yes       2. no       3. maybe In fundraising, “yes” and “maybe” are great answers, but “no” can be good too. “No” is an opportunity to explore, build the relationship, ask more questions, and encourage engagement. It’s up to you to find out why the person is saying no, and how you can turn their no into a yes. 4 Reasons Why Prospective Donors Say “No” There are many reasons why people say no. Four of the most common include: 1. Wrong time. Money is tight at the moment for whatever reason. Six months or a year from now might be better. Or, they could need more information before making a decision. 2. Wrong project. They love your organization. They’re really interested in the after school program — but you asked for the preschool program. 3. Wrong amount. You asked for too much or too little. Once you ask some good follow-up questions, you may be delighted to receive a gift of another amount. 4. Wrong asker. This is often the most difficult issue to identify, but it’s possible that your donor just doesn’t click with the board member you brought along. Keep your intuition tuned for issues like this, because they will often go unspoken. I’ll be discussing how you can turn those no’s into yeses and a whole lot more in my upcoming session at the International Association of Fundraising Professionals’ conference. Going Further There are some great posts around the web pertaining to this topic. Here are two of my favorites: When a foundation declines to fund you, the story isn’t really over Overcoming the 9 Fundraising No’s

Thanking Online Donors with Better Emails

Article by Joanne Fritz

I missed Lisa Sargent's webinar for Network for Good last month. Luckily, Lisa sent the link to her slide deck in her recent newsletter.

The webinar was all about how to thank donors by email when they give online. And Lisa's presentation is the most thorough dissection of the email thanking process that I've seen.

Some charities have just flipped off their email thank yous as though they really aren't that important. And some charities have been at sea, wanting to do the right thing but just not sure what that might be.

If your organization is in either of those categories, then make sure you look at Lisa's slides. They are self-explanatory and well worth your time.

Lisa boils the fundamentals down to these simple actions:

• Your "From" line should state clearly who you are. Nothing cryptic here. State your org's name.
• Your "Subject" line should tell the donor what this email is about, in 45 characters or less.
• Personalize the salutation, as in "Dear Ms Fritz." Always attentive to detail, Lisa points out that a comma after the salutation is better than a colon...friendlier, less business like.
• Make the opening lines as engaging as possible...maybe a story or exactly what the donation will accomplish.
• Give contact information so the donor can find out more or contact a real person.
• Tell the donor when he or she will hear from your organization next. A newsletter perhaps?
• Have someone important sign the email...to show how valuable and appreciated the donor is to your charity. Including a photo of that person is a great touch.
• Link to something that the donor can interact with right now -- a video, your website, your Facebook page.
• Include a P.S.--postscripts have been drilled into fundraisers for direct mail appeals, so don't leave it out now. People do and will read it. Provide more thanks, an invitation to do something more, or link to a useful resource.

It's all simple and doable. Thanks to Lisa for developing a framework that any charity can build on.

Go look at How to Write Thank-You Emails That Inspire for more ideas, examples, and a perfect homework assignment.

How Do You Stack Up?