Chapter 11

Two Mighty Words: Thank You

The two mightiest words in the world of funds are “thank you.” These two words chisel their way through mountains of formalities in the give-and-take terrain of funding and working with public, private, and individual donors.

One of the organizations for which I’ve volunteered over the years has the most inspiring and sincere executive director I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet.

Not only is my friend energetic but, at every opportunity, with every staff person, volunteer, or contractor with whom she might be working she says, “We truly appreciate everything you do for us.”

And then she adds their names.

She doesn’t always use these exact words, but the sentiment is always the same and she always uses the person’s name. It’s not contrived. She’s sincere.

She speaks for the organization. She means it. No one gets tired of hearing it — people come back to donate time and money because they are being acknowledged with these simple words and they feel it.

When she says this to me, I feel I’m playing a tiny role in making a great community an even better place. And that is exactly why I volunteer; I want to make things better even if it’s only a small ripple. It makes me happy and I’m grateful to be involved. What more could a person ask for? What better legacy to give your family?

The thankfulness of my friend and the organization she works with extends to funders. Those funders also want to make the community a better place. Because of this, the organization has gone from having a modest budget to a larger budget with even more potential to effect growth and change in the community. All of this is because of those two important words: “thank you.”

How you plan to acknowledge funders, partners, volunteers, and even politicians is a critical aspect of the success of your organization overall and in finding funding and creating grant applications.

1. Making It Personal

Nonprofit business is a complex animal. Many times, fierce people run nonprofits. Fiercely passionate about what they do, some have marvelous obsessions driving their work. These obsessions run the gamut from curating historic barbed wire fence collections to feeding hungry children, to working towards clean water for people around the globe.

This complex business requires balancing administrative and financial management skills with creatively championing what’s at the heart of the business. Even though objectivity and professionalism are cornerstones of excellence in nonprofit business, the road that got people there is often personal for staff and volunteers. When this passion connects with funders the impact is visible in galleries, forests, museums, sports centers, food banks, hospitals — the list goes on.

So some advice: Your idea, no matter whether you’ve filled out an application online, or had long talks and meetings with the funder, has touched someone, or a number of people, personally, on some level, enough to respond positively to your request.

Acknowledge that connection fully. It’s the best part of the entire application process. The human need to be acknowledged for being involved in building community is hardwired and as old as the need to share and redistribute wealth.

Because of this, sometime soon after the successful completion of your project, you’ll want to say thank you at that level. How you do this is just as important as the act of saying thank you itself. Because, though these matters start at a personal level, people don’t always want to have attention drawn to them individually. Whether you’re addressing an individual or an organization, maintain a respectful balance.

2. Big Sentiment, Light Touch

If the letter is your own acknowledgement of a favor conferred, let the language be simple, but strong, grateful, and graceful. Fancy that you are clasping the hand of the kind friend who has been generous or thoughtful for you, and then write, even as you would speak.

— Florence Hartley, 1860

So how do you get to the heart of the matter while maintaining decorum that respects the comfort level of the funder or partners? Leaders do it all the time with official thank-you notes.

Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, received a pair of knitted socks from Truro, Nova Scotia’s, Lillie Stewart, and he took the time to write her a note to thank her. Lillie received the note signed and sealed on letterhead from the Prime Minister’s Office immediately after he received the gift. He made it personal. Needless to say, Lillie Stewart and Prime Minister Trudeau gained a great deal of goodwill mileage and air time from the sock situation while retaining decorum on both sides.

In saying thank you, you can also go public with an indirect and light approach. Even though you may have sent an official thank you on letterhead, there are lighthearted opportunities to say deep thanks without causing discomfort to the recipient and others.

One of the best examples I’ve seen of this is a session between nighttime host Jimmy Fallon and President Barack Obama towards the end of Obama’s second term. In the session, both men pretended to write thank-you notes to various recipients.

Fallon ended this tongue-in-cheek session by composing a thank-you note to Obama, summing up Obama’s presidency in a manner that fit the comfort level of both men and of the audience: “Thank you President Obama for serving our nation with dignity, class, patience, eloquence, optimism, and integrity, thus marking the first time anyone has sincerely said, ‘Thanks Obama’.” Big words. Light touch. Lots of laughs.

Both Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama gained their offices through pioneering fundraising campaigns which used technology more than any politicians before them to garner funding and support. Yet, they still retain a personal touch and communicate on a personal level through these notes.

Keep these examples in mind when you’re making decisions about how to thank people.

3. How Can We Thank You Enough?

On small budgets, you can say thank you through social media, press releases, interviews, and special events such as open houses. A little speech-making for dignitaries goes a long way.

As well, throughout the project, and afterwards, you can continue to list supporters on web pages, and in a monthly newsletter, and engage them in ongoing activities. And, on a day-to-day basis, like my friend, simply say thank you.

4. A Big Public Thank You: It’s in the Headlines

If you have a project like the Seal Point Retreat and many people have been involved as partners, contractors, volunteers, and people who just talk up the project, a great way to say thank you is through a Card of Thanks in the newspaper which gives a broad brush acknowledgment to all contributions from the community.

5. Commemorative Benches, Trees, Plaques, Etc.

Have you ever noticed how many people will stop and read a tribute on a commemorative bench or tree on your favorite walk? These wonderful gestures inspire me to think deeply about the people to whom they’re dedicated and about the people who thought to do this. If you have a commemorative program in your town or city and you’ve just succeeded with a large campaign, consider saying thank you to all of the donors to your project. This could be as simple as “To the Seal Point Retreat donors” with the date and a quote suitable to the spot and occasion.

6. Post Pictures

Post pictures of the project in progress and when it’s finished, on your web page, on Facebook and, for those who like the personal touch, send a thank-you photo card with a note.

7. Lastly, a Thanks to You, Reader

To you, the reader, I’m going to close with a big thank you for taking the time to join me in the world of grant writing and finding funds. I’ve created Appendix I as a thank you to you, to help take the stress out of proposal writing. I hope you enjoy it.

Finally, there’s nothing that funders like more than projects that lead to communities being more healthy, happy and whole — led by great people like you.

If you’d like more information about funding portals, or want to connect with the links I’ve provided in Appendix II, please visit my webpage at www.griffithscommunications.com.