There’s no question that donors play a key role for nonprofits—without their support, charitable organizations would struggle to meet their goals and establish the initiatives needed to work towards their missions. It’s extremely important to show donors that their gifts and contributions are appreciated in meaningful ways.
Your nonprofit likely already has donor recognition strategies in place, but it’s always worth looking for tips and practices to spruce up your plan. To help you do that, this handbook will cover the following topics:
With the right strategies, you’ll successfully convey your gratitude to your most important supporters. They’ll feel good about their meaningful support, leading them to make repeated (even larger!) gifts.
Donor recognition refers to a nonprofit or charitable organization's actions to show appreciation for supporters who make gifts to aid its mission. These actions can range from sending a simple thank-you note to inviting them to an exclusive donor event to engraving a donor’s name on a wall display.
Each nonprofit’s recognition strategy should be tailored to its audience’s unique preferences, making no two strategies completely alike. While it’s valuable for you to examine how other nonprofits show their donors appreciation, keep in mind that what works for them might not work for you. Ultimately, you know your donors the best and understand what they would value in terms of appreciation.
Beyond making donors feel good for their contributions to your nonprofits, meaningful donor recognition also:
The key here is that recognition must be meaningful. Just like you, as an individual, can tell when someone is being insincere with their gratitude, your nonprofit’s donors will know if the appreciation you show is disingenuous or superficial. In that case, you won’t be able to reap the benefits of donor recognition, and your nonprofit may even suffer for it.
To ensure your recognition activities are meaningful to your supporters, establish a plan that outlines exactly how you’ll show appreciation and deepen relationships with donors.
When establishing your donor recognition plan, keep the following factors in mind:
Donor recognition can be:
When deciding whether recognition should be public or private, keep your donors’ preferences in mind.
Some of your donors may be private individuals who would prefer to stay out of the limelight. For these supporters, private recognition will be far more meaningful and genuine. Don’t be afraid to occasionally survey your supporters and ask them how they feel about the private or public nature of your appreciation efforts. Be sure to consider their feedback as you mold your donor recognition strategy.
Aside from whether your recognition efforts will be private or public, you also need to consider frequency and timing. Usually, your recognition efforts will be:
The best strategies make use of both immediate and regular recognition. That way, you get the benefits of thanking supporters promptly after their donations and the benefits of staying in contact and properly stewarding them.
Appreciation doesn’t look the same for every action—for example, just think of the difference in how you would feel if one friend got you a greeting card for your birthday and the other baked you a homemade cake. The same idea applies to your nonprofit’s donors.
Ideally, you should break your recognition efforts into distinct tiers, with different activities for different donor categories. Characteristics that inform which category a donor belongs to include:
Tailor your donor recognition activities to your donor categories to best meet their needs.
For example, one-time donors who have not interacted much with your organization probably don’t need a large show of gratitude off the bat, but you’ll benefit from thanking and casually encouraging them to stay connected with your nonprofit. On the other hand, a longtime major donor will probably expect a grander and more personal gesture of appreciation and frequent status updates on the programs they’ve funded.
When conducting your recognition efforts, keep your focus on the donor by using language that frames your nonprofit’s programs as something the donor has helped you achieve. In particular, emphasize the role that the donor has played.
Let’s take a look at two hypothetical examples of thank-you letters from an ocean conservation nonprofit:
While both of these notes start with a quick thank-you and then dive more deeply into the nonprofit’s activities, the former keeps its focus on the nonprofit. This can make the donor feel underappreciated or that their gift is relatively insignificant.
On the other hand, the latter note stays focused on the donor. It reframes its activities as projects that the donor’s generosity empowers them to complete, making it a much more effective appreciation message.
Tie the donor’s gift to a tangible, concrete impact to demonstrate the value of their contribution to your nonprofit and show them that their funds are going toward a good cause. For example, if your nonprofit provides food for families experiencing poverty, you might say something along these lines:
Don’t be afraid to get specific—your donors will appreciate that you’re pushing aside the curtain for them, so to speak, and giving them a glimpse into what exactly their donations can achieve.
No one wants to feel like they’re just a face in the crowd. Go the extra mile to recognize your donors’ individual contributions by personalizing your recognition efforts. In your thank-you efforts, be sure to reference their:
By including details like these, you’ll show your donors that you’re aware of them as individuals and recognize all of their support, not just their most recent donation.
In addition to saying thank you to donors for their financial support, invite them to engage with your nonprofit’s mission further through:
After a designated period, you can also ask supporters to make another donation. However, be very mindful of the timing of such a request. If you make your appeal too soon, the donor will feel that you only care about the funds they can contribute. It’s best to make this request a few months after the first donation, after a few stewardship messages listing other ways that the supporter can engage further with your mission.
Keep an open mind with your donor recognition efforts—don’t limit yourself to what’s traditional or what’s historically worked for nonprofits. Always stay on the lookout for new, innovative ideas that will help you take your recognition strategy to the next level. Even if they don’t work exactly as you intended, they’ll still give you valuable insights into your donors’ preferences, improving your future donor appreciation strategies.
At this point, you’re ready to start filling in your donor recognition plan with strategic activities that demonstrate your appreciation, deepen connections with supporters, and inspire future giving. Let’s take a look at the top donor recognition ideas your nonprofit can leverage.
A donor wall, also known as a donor recognition wall, is a display that features the names of your nonprofit’s donors. They’re typically installed in a highly visible area of the nonprofit’s facilities, so all visitors have an opportunity to view the wall. This is considered a fairly grand gesture of recognition and is usually done in recognition of a nonprofit’s most esteemed and impactful donors.
Donor walls come in one of three forms:
Donor walls are a tried-and-true way to recognize donors and increase giving, yet they are a flexible option that allows for plenty of creativity—that’s why they’re our top donor recognition idea.
If you’re interested in installing a donor wall, OmniAlly is the top provider of digital walls that are intuitive, modern, and authentic. Our industry-leading digital donor recognition systems are sure to support your appreciation goals in an engaging and personable way. Check out our catalog for design ideas we can bring to life for your organization!
Letters and notes are a classic donor recognition idea. They’re a particularly great option for showing appreciation to donors immediately after they’ve made a gift. Common channels thank-you notes are sent through include:
To make your donors feel even more valued, ask your beneficiaries to handwrite thank-you notes for key supporters. Donors will appreciate hearing from the people whose lives their funds have directly impacted.
Digital greeting cards, also known as eCards, take thank-you notes to the next level as an appreciation strategy. With an eCard, your nonprofit can show its gratitude in a visually engaging way that donors will love. Plus, this option is much more cost-effective and environmentally friendly than sending physical notes.
To leverage this donor recognition strategy, you’ll partner with an eCard provider. You’ll create eCards branded to your nonprofit, choosing what visuals will appear on them and even adding animations or interactive elements. Then, you’ll set up an automated system that automatically sends eCards to supporters after they donate! Include a short but heartfelt thank-you message and the gift receipt for the donor’s records.
For some donors, nothing beats the connection of hearing another human voice. These donors will appreciate a thank-you phone call and the opportunity to chat with your nonprofit’s staff members about the impact they’ve made. Set your team members up for success by preparing a script template so they have talking points ready before the conversation starts.
Aside from staff members, you can also have your beneficiaries, volunteers, board members, or even your nonprofit’s director handle calls. Major donors especially will appreciate hearing a thank-you from key figures in your community.
Highlight key donors on your social media pages for a quick yet effective public recognition idea. Create a post featuring the donor’s picture, a description of their contribution and what it helped you achieve, and a short bio of the donor’s history. You can post this across multiple platforms so all your supporters can learn about your most impactful donors. Just be sure to ask the donor’s permission before publicly featuring them!
If your nonprofit’s team members have experience with video creation and editing, appreciation videos are a great way to show donors just how much you appreciate them. Your video can be a general thank-you to all of your donors, or you can create individual, personalized videos for your most generous supporters. Film your beneficiaries, staff members, volunteers, and board members saying a quick thank-you message and put it all together so donors understand the impact of their gifts.
As a show of appreciation, some nonprofits will send small gifts to their generous supporters. This donor recognition idea doesn’t need to break the bank—your gifts can be as simple and inexpensive as branded t-shirts, mugs, tumblers, notebooks, and tote bags. Donors will feel recognized for their gifts and they’ll spread awareness of your nonprofit’s brand every time they use the merchandise!
Invite donors to socialize, network, and connect with your mission through a dedicated donor lunch or dinner. You’ll pay for the experience and your donors will get to have a fun time meeting like-minded individuals. This idea is best suited for nonprofits that have high concentrations of supporters in specific areas. For example, a Chicago-based animal shelter might host a dinner just around the corner from their facilities.
Push aside the curtain and let key donors in on the behind-the-scenes action of your nonprofit. Give them a tour of your facilities, offer priority seating at events, or allow them to attend meetings with organizational leaders. This donor recognition idea is best for top-tier donors who have demonstrated a serious commitment to your cause. They’ll appreciate the opportunity to dive into the nitty-gritty details of your operations.
Instead of organizing an event for fundraising or advocacy, host an event dedicated entirely to recognizing key donors. This option is extremely flexible, as you’re free to customize it depending on which subset of donors you’re showing gratitude toward. It can be as casual or as formal as you like. And, if your supporters are spread out across the country or the globe, you can take your event online or host it in a hybrid format.
If you’ve ever been to a museum or university, you’ve probably noticed that certain wings or buildings are named after specific people. Your nonprofit can use this strategy as well by naming specific projects or buildings after your most important supporters.
Incorporate regular public recognition with a donor of the month program. For this idea, you’ll pick a specific donor every month to honor. This doesn’t have to be the individual who made the largest gift. It could be a donor who’s engaged with your nonprofit on all fronts, including advocacy and volunteering. Or, it could be a donor who made a special contribution, such as sponsoring a matching challenge. Regardless of what your criteria are, be sure to clearly define it.
Offer the featured donor certain perks to emphasize your gratitude toward them. You might shout them out on social media, send them branded merchandise, and give them an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour to truly make being the donor of the month special.
To encourage supporters to join certain highly sought-after subsets of donors, some nonprofits establish giving societies. Commonly, societies are established for recurring donors, legacy donors, planned donors, and major donors. Offer donors perks for joining each of these groups, and clearly outline how supporters can be inducted into each society. For example, you might establish that donors who make gifts totaling over $10,000 are eligible to join your major donor society.
If you want a way to highlight your nonprofit’s most generous, impactful, and influential donors, look no further than the donor hall of fame. For this idea, you’re essentially taking your donor month of the program to the next level. Every year or every few years, you’ll choose one or two donors to be inducted into the hall of fame. You can celebrate their contributions by:
With this idea, you’ll ensure that your key donors are immortalized for their generosity and contributions, demonstrating your sincere appreciation for their support.
The board of directors is the governing body of the nonprofit. They oversee high-level strategy, ensuring that the organization is on a path to a sustainable future where it can continue to fulfill its mission. This group is made up of individuals who are truly passionate about the nonprofit’s cause, what it stands for, and the community it’s trying to build.
Honor your most devoted donors by inviting them to serve as members of your board. Allow them to take a hands-on role with your organization and make positive changes that support your mission and future growth.
A robust donor recognition plan will include several of the ideas listed above, laid out in a way that makes sense for your nonprofit’s unique needs and donor categories.
As you begin your planning, keep in mind that ultimately, recognition should take the form that makes your unique supporters feel the most appreciated. Use that as the foundation for your strategy, and you’ll be off to a great start!