“When is showing gratitude ever inappropriate?” That was my wife Valerie’s response after I returned home from meeting with a pastor who had asked me to write a series of letters for him. I wrote a thank you letter to donors for their generosity. When I showed it to the pastor, he remarked, “I think sending a thank you letter is inappropriate as I have a theological problem thanking people for what they ought to do.” I don’t believe he fully understood the value of showing gratitude.
Every Thanksgiving season, I am reminded of my wife’s comment. In over twenty years in the stewardship ministry, I have learned the value of showing gratitude. Today, with the tools we provide, it is easier than ever to show your members and donors gratitude. I’ll share more about that later, but for now,
Let me establish that Christians “ought to” give without expecting anything in return. Period. We can all agree on that. Most donors never expect to hear anything about their gift. That is why it means so much when you make an effort to say thank you. Here are two major reasons why I believe churches must show gratitude to donors.
First, churches teach gratefulness through how they respond to donors. Everything we do in church is a teachable moment. So, when you try to thank those who fuel your ministry, it shows donors you are grateful and sets a standard for them to express gratefulness when they experience generosity.
Next, gratefulness begets gratefulness! When you show gratitude to donors, they, in turn, show gratitude. While saying “thank you” might not mean they give more, it will certainly make donors feel appreciated for their gifts. Again, how you respond teaches them how to respond.
Does expressing gratitude work? In a book titled Donor-Centered Fundraising, Penelope Burk shared this: "A thank you call from a Board Member to a newly acquired donor within 24 hours will increase their next gift by 39%.”1.
So, we’ve established the benefits of gratitude and that it works. The question is, how do you accomplish this? I want to share one easy way you can do this: a feature helping our church partners to easily and effectively show gratitude.
Customize your receipts. When you give online, you should immediately get a receipt for that gift. Your gift triggers that automated response. Years ago, a church asked if we could help them customize the automated messages that our system generates each time someone gives. Our team went to work, and we now provide our church partners the ability to easily personalize those messages.
Here is an example of how that might help you express gratitude. I advise church leadership to update their receipts around the church calendar. For instance, right after Easter, your response might read, “Because of your generosity, we had a record number of people Easter and set an all-time online engagement record! Thank you for helping change lives through your giving!” Or, as you move out of summer, you might have the response read, “Generous people like you helped us reach over 500 boys and girls in VBS in June! We saw 73 professions of faith! Thank you for your generosity!” This and more can be done quickly and easily with our platform.
This is but one way of showing gratitude. There are many other ways. The bottom line is to show true gratitude to those who give to your church. They are helping fuel missions and ministries. It takes little effort to say thanks, but the return can be enormous. Find traditional and creative ways to express appreciation to your donors, because gratitude changes everything, and it is never inappropriate!
Speaking of gratitude, we at OnlineGiving.Org are grateful that you come and read our material. We would love to talk to you about becoming a part of our family, so you can also get the kind of help, advice, and tools we discussed in this post. Contact us at (615) 206-4000 or at support@onlinegiving.org.
The Stewardship Coach
Most donors never expect to hear anything after giving to a church or ministry. That is why your gratitude can make such an impact! With the tools we provide, it is easier than ever to show your members and donors gratitude.https://t.co/90N5ZEPi0w pic.twitter.com/9TpU6oWy7w
— Online Giving (@onlinegivingorg) November 21, 2022
1. https://grin.coop/the-importance-of-saying-thank-you-to-donors/
