Giving to multiple charities at once: An experiment
My husband and I inadvertently launched an experiment in charitable giving. We gave similarly-sized donations to a number of charities, and sent all the cheques on the same day.
We never intended to study how charities thank their donors, as fascinating as that is. What we did do is set up a gifting account with Abundance Canada (Mennonite Foundation of Canada at the time). We gave them some stocks (part of a gift given to us) and some instructions, i.e. a list of charities with amounts and frequencies. Most of our gifts were annual ones and Abundance distributed the funds right away.
The results are in!
A rep from one of the larger charities on our list called and left a message. Around the same time, we got a hand-written thank-you card from one of the smallest charities on our list.
The next week, a standard thank-you letter with a personal note added. I was impressed, as this was a charity that has done thank-yous poorly in the past. Someone had attended one of my workshops, where I always advise charities to say thank-you early and often. Perhaps the message is getting out, I thought.
Next was a lovely home-made thank-you card featuring a winter photo of canoes at a summer camp, eagerly awaiting the campers' return. That was my favourite so far. We also received another phone message, this time from an enthusiastic caller who noted our long support of the cause. We were astonished, we had no idea it had been that long!
Last week, we got another standard thank-you letter, this one with text awkwardly inserted to reflect the designation of our gift. Fortunately for them, this was from a cause near to my heart and all will be forgiven. We also received my new favourite letter, this one from another camp (I guess we like camps, they are a favourite cause among many Christian donors) It was a genuine one-of-a-kind letter that started with "Wow, what a great surprise..." and assured us that our gift will have an immediate impact.
There are also some organizations on the list that we haven't heard from. It's sad. I know the charities are doing good work. Resources are stretched and sending a thank-you letter does require someone's attention. I'd argue that sending a thank-you letter takes the same number of minutes whether you send it after a day or after a month! It pains me that these charities are sending out a message that donations do not matter to them.
What makes a great thank-you letter?
Let's close on a cheerier note. People give to charities and causes they believe in, and where they feel some sort of connection. That's what my research tells me, and I am just like the donors I have studied. The best thank-you letters intuitively reach for that connection and emphasize the shared cause. I am grateful to be able to support some causes I truly value - the thank-you experiment is just an added bonus!