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“Thank you notes before playing with your gifts,” my mom would tell me. I would spend the first few hours of Christmas morning handwriting notes to my grandparents and Santa Claus for their generosity. It was torture for a 10 year old. When I became a fundraising professional 15 years later I credit my mother with giving me the most valuable skill any professional can have – being able to say thank you in a timely, personal and meaningful way.

According to Penelope Burk’s Donor-Centered Fundraising, only 40% of donors say they always receive a thank you letter after they make a donation… which means that the other 60% either receive a thank you sometimes, or shockingly, not at all.

So what does this statistic mean for nonprofits? A typical nonprofit will lose 50% of its annual donors between the first and second donation and up to 30% year on year thereafter. Yikes! The lesson here: Not saying thank you to your donors, members, stakeholders, board members and even your staff is hurting you financially!

With your year-end annual appeals wrapping up, here are a few tips to ensure you give everyone on your list a personal and meaningful thank you this annual appeal season.

Take Inventory

Pull together all the past notes, letters, phone scripts or any other materials created for the purpose of saying thank you. Make sure they are all consistent in messaging, information is up to date (especially statistics about your organization) and there are no spelling errors before sending out.

Be Timely

It should be a priority to say thank you within 48 hours after receipt. If you send out all your thank you letters at the end of the month, shoot an email or call after hours to leave a message of gratitude right away. I like to set aside the last 30 minutes of my work day to send thank you notes or make thank you calls.

Make It Personal and Meaningful

The goal is to tell your donors “You matter to us and your gift makes a difference.” You’re not going to make me feel that way if your letter starts off with “Dear Friend…” Don’t do that, ever! Know my name. Know how much I gave. Tell me what kind of impact my contribution made in your organization.

Go Retro

For the younger generations who love email and social media it’s easy to hide behind your computer. Don’t ever underestimate the power of a phone call or handwritten note card. They have become a lost art like sewing or cooking for us busy professionals but people appreciate them, remember them, and feel like you went above and beyond.

Didn’t Get Any Money? Send A Thank You Anyway

It’s called cultivation and don’t be short sighted. They didn’t give this year but there is always next year. Didn’t get the big grant you applied for? Better send a thank you note — trust me, the nomination committees will be more likely to remember you next year.

There are lots of times I forgot to say thank you, especially to my co-workers and my husband (my top donors of time, idea sharing and support). I just have to remember to make it a habit and priority throughout the day. So thanks Mom, for making me write those thank you cards when all I really wanted to do was play with my new toys. I appreciate it now.

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One of the greatest things about our work with nonprofit organizations is seeing the very best people doing their very best to change the world.  If you haven’t donated yet or enough during this season of giving, please consider these very worthy organizations – they’re making a difference and deserve our support!

If you want to help homeless families and individuals, donate money and warm clothes to Francis House Center of Sacramento.  Rev. Faith Whitmore and her team provide critical triage and support to people facing the really hard issues of homelessness and unemployment.  Donate online at www.francishousecenter.org or drop off donations to them at 1422 C Street, Sacramento.  The hug you receive will be heart-felt, and you’ll leave feeling better about yourself, guaranteed.

If you want to support the arts, give money to La Raza Galeria Posada.  Executive Director Marie Acosta, along with talented staff and an active board of directors are determined to preserve, promote and present the very best of indigenous peoples’ art.  You don’t want to miss their annual Day of the Dead celebration; and check out the Sacramento Bee’s online coverage of their Second Saturday Las Posaditas celebration.  Donate money online at www.larazagaleriaposada.org.  And drop in to their Midtown site at 1022 22^nd Street to check out the artists’ works they have for sale.

If you support women’s programs, especially job readiness, donate to Women’s Empowerment.  Lisa Culp leads a tremendous team of staff and volunteers, and one visit to their headquarters will prove to you their impact.  The walls are covered – literally covered – with photos and bios of their graduates.  It’s an amazing place.  Check them out online at www.womens-empowerment.org and consider donating cash as well as your time.  They thrive on the contributions of volunteers and can be found at 1400 North C Street.

If you worry about people being hungry, then double-down on your grocery shopping and make a food donation to River City Food Bank.  Better yet, volunteer to bag groceries for families in need, and feel blessed that our community has Eileen Thomas and her team.  Donate money online to them at www.rivercityfoodbank.org or stop by their center at 1319 27^th Street in Sacramento.

If it is youth mentoring that connects with your priorities, the very best program in our region is the Child Advocates of Placer County.  Donate online at www.casaplacer.org or if you live in Placer County, call Don Kleinfelder at 530-887-1006 to find out when you can be trained as a volunteer advocate and mentor.  The time is nothing compared to the impact you’ll have in the life of a young person who needs your help.

If you worry about gay, lesbian, and questioning youth and their safety and support, donate to the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center.  Shara Perkins-Murphy and her team manage the largest and oldest LGBT community center in our region, and they need us to support their work.  Donate online at www.saccenter.org, or mail your check to 1927 L Street, Sacramento.

Many of us have been touched by cancer, and if childhood cancer concerns you, support the Keaton Raphael Memorial Foundation.  Donate online at www.childcancer.org and call Robyn Raphael at 916-784-6786 to hear about the real difference they’re making in the lives of families facing a devastating diagnosis and treatment plan.  I couldn’t imagine going through such a thing alone, and Robyn makes sure families don’t.

So let’s recap. The 12 things you can do this holiday season are:

1. Send a donation to Francis House Center.
2. Call Rev Faith at 916-443-2646 and find out what they need, then donate the stuff.
3. Send a donation to Women’s Empowerment.
4. Call Lisa Culp at 916-669-2307 and find out how you can volunteer at Women’s Empowerment.
5. Donate money or groceries to River City Food Bank.
6. Call Eileen Thomas at 916-446-2627 to find out how you can work a shift at River City Food Bank.
7. Send a donation to La Raza Galeria Posada.
8. Shop at the La Raza gallery for interesting, one of a kind art gifts.
9. Donate money to Child Advocates of Placer County.
10. Sign up to become a volunteer youth mentor, if not in Placer County, then where you live.
11. Donate to the Sacramento Gay & Lesbian Center so people coming out have support.
12. Donate to Keaton Raphael Memorial to ensure that families diagnosed with childhood cancer are supported.

All the info you need to make a difference is in this blog post.  Let us know what you decide to do, whether part of this list or something else, to contribute to the Season of Giving.  And thanks for showing up for those who show up every day to make things better for others.

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3fold is collecting donations for Stanford Settlement this holiday season with a little extra help from our friends. After all, six businesses gathering donations is better than one!

Starting Monday, December 5 through Saturday, December 10, a bin will be traveling to different businesses and organizations throughout Downtown and Midtown Sacramento collecting nonperishable food and wrapping paper donations for Stanford Settlement.

Where will the bin be traveling?

• Monday, 12/5: Jiffy Lube Downtown; 3000 Capitol Avenue
• Tuesday, 12/6: Bows and Arrows; 1815 19th street
• Wednesday, 12/7: B Street Theatre; 2711 B Street
• Thursday, 12/8: Esquire IMAX Theatre; 1211 K Street
• Friday, 12/9: Café Bernardo Midtown; 2726 Capitol Avenue
• Saturday, 12/10 (Second Saturday!): The Urban Hive; 1931 H Street

How you can help?

Find the bin and donate wrapping paper or nonperishable food. Spread the word! Tell your friends about the traveling bin using your social networks. You can track conversation about the bin on Twitter using the hashtag #TravelingBin

Who you’ll be helping?

Stanford Settlement’s Operation Cratchit project. Operation Cratchit has provided assistance to families during the holidays for over 40 years. Over 700 households will be served this year, receiving food, grocery store gift certificates for perishable food items, wrapping paper and gifts for children.

Thanks to the hosting businesses and organizations for helping us collect donations, and to everyone for spreading the word and donating!

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When a 7.0 earthquake struck Haiti on January 12, the devastation was massive. The public response, especially in social media realms, was also extraordinary.

As rescue crews and humanitarian workers were just beginning the difficult and heartbreaking job of helping the injured and inspecting the damage, the rest of us could only look at the images and listen to the stories on our televisions, radios and online. However, unlike past disasters, the emergence of social media’s crowdsourcing power in the past year gave people the tools and resources for a massive public response.

Led by the Red Cross, one of the first large-scale texting campaigns focused on a specific cause was launched within hours of the disaster. Recruiting the social media-friendly Obama Administration, information about the organization’s $10 texting donation option was loaded on the U.S. State Department and White House websites. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton mentioned the #90999 texting number in a speech, as did President Obama, setting up a fast and easy way for the public to confirm the campaign as legit. A similar texting campaign launched by Haitian-born musician Wyclef Jean called Yele Haiti, allowed texters to give $5 by texting “DONATE” to #501501.

Additionally, information about both campaigns went viral on Twitter and Facebook, spreading the word en mass and quickly. But the thing that truly brought success was the ease of donation – for the Red Cross, you simply text 90-999 on any cell phone, type “HAITI” in the message, and send. Within minutes a request for confirmation is texted back, the user confirms with “YES,” and voila, $10 get charged on your next phone bill. It captures donors in the very moment their emotions are highest and requires very little effort. Makes traditional online donation forms seem prehistoric.

In less than 48 hours, the Red Cross’s texting campaign raised almost $5 million in donations from texting alone. A week later, it was closing in on $18 million.

Facebook users also did their part, with 39 percent of US, UK and Australian users donating money or goods through the platform. Another 20 percent say they will be donating, according to a joint survey between Facebook and Nielsen.

Admittedly, extraordinary circumstances produce extraordinary response. The relative lack of competition for texting donations and the desperate readiness of Twitter and Facebook users to prove their social power (2008 elections, Iranian elections, DARPA balloons), created a perfect storm for this practically first-of-its-kind campaign.

While future crisis and causes will most assuredly follow in the Red Cross’ footsteps, and will more than likely fall far short of the Haiti earthquake response, there will still be a response. In the wake of tragedy, the Red Cross and social media have reinvented the art of cause giving.

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