The thank you note….again.

I received a thank you note for a donation this week, oh no, not again I thought. First off, no signature, not even an signature, nothing, nada, nutt’n. No special words ….”Thank you!” or “Appreciate your support”, nothing. It was addressed Dear Ms. Diamond- no strike through with my name handwritten in. The letterhead and a listing of board members on the side, some were bold, some not. Some Board members had their businesses below, some not, one had the wrong business under his name (most people wouldn’t know that, but the Board member may receive a thank you note too). Please don’t take this as poking at a non profit or an admin or anyone or anything. This is a life lesson. I love the mission of this non profit, that is why I sent a donation. I felt, well, disheartened. As a fundraiser I tell my teams that getting the thank you note out is one of the most important parts of our job, and getting it out correctly is paramount. If your donor does not feel that you appreciated their hard in money you will not see much if any of it again. Can you afford to lose donors?