Boards have important role to play after end‐of‐year fundraising campaigns

• Published date: 01 January 2021
• Date: 01 January 2021
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/ban.31205

B&A For Board Members

DOI 10.1002/ban © 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC • All rights reserved

Boards have important role to play

after end-of-year fundraising campaigns

As 2021 fast approaches, your organization’s

end-of-year fundraising is likely in full gear. As

these donations come in, experts say, board mem-

bers should help out their nonprofits by thanking

donors for their contributions to the cause—which

not only helps put a smile on supporters’ faces,

but also helps lay the groundwork for the next

time the nonprofit asks them for a contribution.

According to Amy Eisenstein, a fundrais-

ing consultant and CEO and co-founder of the

Capital Campaign Toolkit, board members can

pen thank-you letters to donors, expressing

gratitude and demonstrating the impact their

support will have on the ground. Eisenstein

suggests that these letters use distinct lan-

guage for first-time donors, repeat donors and

major donors, with the goal of ensuring they feel

personalized and tailored to the level of support

provided by the donor.

“The base of your thank you letter can stay the

same for most donors, but you will want to write a

few personalized paragraphs that can be swapped

in and out for different donors,” Eisenstein writes

on her blog.

She also suggests a series of follow-up con-

tacts—in writing and over the phone—depending

on the donation amount. For example:

• For donations of $100 or less, a tax receipt

with a simple thank-you letter, written within a

week or so of the donation, will suffice.

• For donations of $101 up to $500, that

tax receipt letter should be sent, followed by a

handwritten note from the executive director

within two weeks, a phone call by a board member

within two weeks and a follow-up letter or email

within six to eight months.

• For donations of $501 to $2,000, the

letters and phone calls should all be done

within a week of the gift, she said, and the

six-to-eight-month follow-up should include a

personal note.

• For gifts of $2,001 and above, she said the

letters should go out within a week, but the call

from the board member should be made within

a couple days of the gift. The long-term follow-up

contact, she said, should be in person.

And board members should feel free to ask

their executive directors for guidance when it

comes to the thank-you phone calls, Eisenstein

said. It’s OK if they don’t know quite what to say,

or how to say it.

The executive director should be happy to draft

some talking points for board members to use dur-

ing their calls, Eisenstein said.

“What difference did their donation really make?

These calls are a great opportunity to let the donor

know,” she said.

For more information and tips on board re-

cruitment and retention, visit https://www.

amyeisenstein.com. ■

be established as appropriate and necessary,

depending on the organization’s needs. But

boards should keep in mind the responsibilities

and time commitments their members already

have on their plates before adding new commit-

tees. And they should keep in mind that board

members are not the only source of committee

members—nonboard supporters can also usu-

ally serve on committees. These supporters

of the nonprofit can deepen their engagement

through serving on a committee, and that often

doubles as an introduction to board service

itself—meaning these individuals make for qual-

ity recruits when it comes time to add new mem-

bers to the board.

For more information

Kari Anderson is the founder of Incite! Con-

sulting Group, a Wyoming-based consultancy

engaged in board education, executive direc-

tor coaching, staff training, strategic planning,

fund development and succession planning,

among other services. She can be reached at

(844) 946-2483 or kari@inciteconsultinggroup.

com. ■

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