Have you thought about what it means to develop a culture of gratitude at your organization? The word “culture” can often evoke big, expansive things. Things that could also seem daunting and complicated. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, think of your culture as something that’s always in flux. Culture is dynamic. It’s intangible, yet perceptible. Think of your culture of gratitude as a process. Think of it as something you can work toward, each and every day. Think of it as something you and everyone at your organization do and participate in…with joy. The culture of gratitude going on within the space of your nonprofit influences how you interact with your donors. It impacts how you make them feel.
Here I go again with that Maya Angelou quote…
I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.
-Maya Angelou
If it ever got old, I’d quit using it. But it doesn’t. Especially when it comes to your donors. How are you making your donors feel? How do you communicate gratitude to them? What systems do you have in place for communicating gratitude? These are some of questions you should be asking yourself — and those you work with — regularly. When you put in the work to make your culture of gratitude a reality, your donors will respond positively. Again, it’s a process. If you have the right systems in place, you can trust the process.
Two recent thank yous from two different nonprofits caught my attention, and so I wanted to showcase them here. Let me put it to you this way: I couldn’t not feel good about getting these thank you notes. They indicate that good things are going on within these organizations and within their donor relationships. Harmony. Joy. A culture of gratitude. You can’t fake this stuff. Check out the thank yous below. These pieces come from The Coalition for Sonoran Desert Protection and Intervale Center, and they speak for themselves.
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I can’t wait to meet with you personally.
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