After decades of donor interactions and thousands of donor interviews, here is a list of what I’ve heard from major gift donors about what they want but don’t always get:
- Follow-up and follow-through;
- Recognition – even, if only privately;
- Timely responses;
- Mission-centered impact reporting – doesn’t have to be specific (i.e., “your gift provided the resources to buy ‘x number’ of new microscopes”) as much as it needs to be mission-centered, (i.e., “your gift helped ‘x number’ of patients receive life-changing care. . .”)
- Personalized reminders – about important dates, events, and giving commitments;
- Feeling like the organization treats them as an “insider.”
I’ve never heard, “I wanted a tchotchke and never got one.”
I’ve never heard, “I wanted another big event to attend.”
And, I’ve rarely heard, “I wanted to be thanked more.”
But, if you think about what we do most – we thank (and thank and thank), we spend countless hours in meetings figuring out the right gifts to give them, and we invite them to our big gala each year.
And, we think we are stewarding them well.
All the while, if you review their wants closely, all they really crave is for us to personally show care for them and to authentically show as much care for the mission as they have.
