This episode is presented by Evertrue. Set yourself up for higher retention rates all year long by joining my free webinar with Evertrue on January 16th. RSVP at positiveequation.com/thanks.
Are you ready to make your donors feel like the rockstars they are?
This episode will show you how to ramp up your thank you game, making your donors feel valued, appreciated and most importantly, connected to your cause. We’ll be sharing creative thank you strategies from the Calgary Zoo, Bentley University, and Cincinnati Children's that have left lasting impressions on their donors.
Whether you're using personalized video messages or sending out thank you videos within hours of receiving a gift, these strategies will ensure your donors know just how much they mean to your organization.
We’ll also be diving into the power of video in forging an emotional connection with your donors - and trust us, it’s more potent than you think! Witness the magic of Cincinnati Children's holiday video that featured children opening presents - a perfect example of how you can help donors visualize the impact of their contributions.
You'll also hear my favorite tips on how to gather video content throughout the year and the importance of timeliness and preparation in thanking donors.
EverTrue Studios is like Netflix for fundraisers. Check out their catalog of on-demand documentaries and podcast episodes here.
After GivingTuesday winds down, how can you set yourself up for higher retention rates all year long? Join my free webinar with EverTrue on January 16th to learn how to creatively use video campaigns, email, and direct mail to reengage your supporters! RSVP and start the New Year with me at
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Speaker 1:
Now I know we are days away from December and for many of you, this might be crunch time to get end of year donations or sales in. So, in the theme of this month, I wanted to share some really clever ways to say thank you and to do so. I will be sharing some video examples from the Calgary Zoo, bentley University and Cincinnati Children's. Hey, there, you're listening to the Missions to Moomis podcast and I'm your host, dana Snyner, digital Strategist for Non-profits and Founder and CEO of Positive Equations. This show highlights the digital strategies of organizations making a positive impact in the world. Ready to learn the latest trends, actionable tips and the real stories from behind the feed. Let's transform your mission into a movement. Hey, friend, if you are listening to this, live Giving Tuesday just took place yesterday and, man, I'm sending you a big virtual high five through your earbuds. I wanted to make sure that, if you participated in any way, that you give yourself a moment to pause and celebrate the impact you made possible. Sometime today, sometime this week, pause with your team and celebrate the amazing work that you completed. Now I know we are days away from December and for many of you, this might be crunch time to get end of year donations or sales in. So in the theme of this month, I wanted to share some really clever ways to say thank you, and to do so I will be sharing some video examples from the Calgary Zoo, bentley University and Cincinnati Children's. So although the audio I'm going to play the video's audio on here, although the audio is amazing, I highly recommend clicking the links in the show notes to watch these thank you videos from ThankView's Tip Top Tuesday series on YouTube. So to kick us off, the Calgary Zoo's end of year thank you video featured personalized one to one videos to donors. They were recorded by the organization's chief development officer with a super cute animal backdrop of the Zoo and Zoo B-roll from throughout the year. So they had a personalized thank you video and then, as he was talking, it would cut to visuals from the Zoo and then cut back to him. You can do this all really seamlessly and easily in the platform and as the video plays there's a note right below the video reflecting back on the year and the impact the donor has made. So let's take a listen to these tips from the Calgary Zoo.
Speaker 2:
Hello Barbara. My name is Stephen Ross. I am the Chief Development Officer here at the Calgary Zoo. I wanted to reach out and personally thank you for your generous support this year. Tip number one We've got another one folks. They took up the challenge to personally thank donors, and we mean one-to-one video. Thank yous. The Christmas gauntlet has been dropped. Tip number two Celebrate this year's wins. Intermixed with holiday messaging is the opportunity to update donors on what their gift made possible. Don't miss that opportunity. Tip number three here's where we'll take a beat and challenge you with a New Year's resolution. In order to create an amazing recap video like this one from Calgary Zoo, you'll need video content throughout the year. So we challenge you, you and your team, to collect photos, interviews, zoom calls and any other type of video that demonstrates your organization's impact. Keep those at the ready for your 2022 holiday video. Then it'll be easy to drag and drop important events from throughout the year.
Speaker 1:
Ever had a brainstorm slump where you just need somewhere to go for new ideas? Now, yes, this podcast is for sure one. But I wanted to introduce you to EverTrue Studios. It's basically like Netflix but for fundraisers. Their platform offers free on-demand documentaries, series and over 250 podcast episodes tailored for advancement professionals, like Raise and Talking Shop. You can subscribe at evertruecom backslash studios to start binging and you can click the link in the show nose. Again, that's evertruecom backslash studios and since you're a podcast fan, I just wanted to highlight you can go on Spotify or Apple to find these shows right now Raise podcast, hosted by the EverTrue CEO, who's really talking about the most exciting things in fundraising from a completely different angle. That is what the Raise podcast is all about. And Talking Shop is hosted by David Lively. He is the senior associate vice president for alumni relations and development and campaign manager at Northwestern University. And Aaron Moran, director of commercial enablement at EverTrue and the former associate VP and chief of staff at DePaul University. So, basically, what happens when an advancement operations nerd and a big ideas major gift guys sit down to chat? They talk shop. So Raise podcast and Talking Shop go check those out, go ahead and you can visit all of these documentaries and content at evertruecom backslash studios. Now back to the show Up. Next is Bentley University's timely Giving Tuesday Thank you videos. You will hear Allison, the director of annual giving, personally thanking donors for joining their Giving Tuesday challenge. Now listen in for what made this thank you campaign really stand out.
Speaker 2:
Hi, abby, I hope you are doing well. I was so excited to see you participating in Giving Tuesday. So huge thank you. Tip number one timeliness. Every thank you video in Bentley's Giving Tuesday campaign was sent within two hours of a donor making their gift. What an incredible way to stand out in a day filled with appeal emails and thank you messages. We're not saying it's a race, but why not be the first to say thank you? Tip number two looking for a timely thank you, thank you how to One word preparation. Bentley prepared by having five students pre-record videos for their 20 most popular donor names. Then prospect managers knew they were responsible for their prospect thank yous and, of course, they had a generic thank you video ready just in case there was an unassigned donor. Get your spreadsheets ready. It's time for Giving Tuesday. Tip number three don't leave your donors hanging Tack on the next step. Thank yous aren't supposed to be a one and done. They're a conversation. Bentley encouraged their audience to send heart selfies.
Speaker 1:
Hey, I hope you are enjoying this episode. I wanted to give you a quick announcement. The next round of my monthly Giving Mastermind will start in February. Previously it was mid-January, but as I'm going through 2024 planning, I really want to give us all time to get settled into the new year. So the monthly Giving Mastermind will start in February for five organizations max. So if building a monthly donor program has been on your to-do list that it keeps getting pushed back due to limited time or resources, this is for you. By April you will have a program that is ready to go live. So let's make it happen together. You can head to positiveequationcom backslash mastermind to learn all about it, to apply, to view more details and to view our work with featured alumni of the program. Again, that's positiveequationcom backslash mastermind, uplast, but certainly not the least and definitely the cutest. I highly recommend watching this one. Click the link in the show notes. This is Cincinnati Children's Magical End of Year. Thank you. And a good question to ask yourself about your end of year. Thank yous is does this make my donors smile? When they receive this video from you, what is the reaction you want them to have Now for Cincinnati Children? The answer was undoubtedly. Yes, the audio of this video is even cute and it makes me smile. But to give you context, before I play the audio here, the point of view of the video is from the bottom of a present and the kid is opening it and being so surprised and excited. So it's super raw mobile phone footage. I picture somebody the parent, whoever was recording this put the mobile phone at the bottom of a box, ask the kid to open it and look surprised and it is the cutest thing. So I want to go ahead and play the video and let you listen to these tips.
Speaker 2:
Okay, I promised an adorable video from Cincinnati Children's and boy did I deliver, oh God. Tip number one the takeaway here is that if your organization works with kids, you should as much as possible feature said children. The more we can see Christmas through kids eyes, the better. It's really magical. Tip number two this video gave their recorders clear recording instructions. Open a box with surprise. There was no script for kids to memorize and you can tell they had a blast making these videos.
Speaker 1:
I hope these thank you videos will really help get you brainstorming about how you can start implementing video into your thank you efforts. This is, honestly, where you can stand out so much as a donor. It is really rare to receive anything besides a receipt email, so I encourage you, click the link in the show notes to watch each of these videos and you can search, think, view, tip top Tuesday videos on YouTube to view the whole series for more ideas. This can you tell. I love talking all things digital to make this show better. I'd be so grateful for your feedback. Leave a review, take a screenshot of this episode, share it on Instagram stories and tag positive equation with one e so I can reshare and connect with you.