If you gazed out the classroom window, you'd see glittering Loch Ness, of monster fame. In the field between, shaggy highland cattle grazed; massive horns, dark ginger. And snug inside a repurposed hunting lodge called The Inch, a masterclass for two dozen fundraisers from around the world droned its way toward the end of day and the promise of a beautifully crafted dinner.
A research psychologist held the stage. She had on her fiercest face, hammering home this point, something she knew from her studies, "For the donor, your thank you is the most important communication!"
Period. Exclamation point!
So ... how do we, mere fundraisers, learn to thank extraordinarily, exceptionally, excitingly, memorably, enjoyably, even exorbitantly — yet believably — well?
Welcome into your hands Thankology, authored by Lisa Sargent ... and newly released in all its richly illustrated glory by Hilborn, North America's foremost publisher of in-the-trenches fundraising expertise. The book's subtitle promises: How to keep your donors longer, and giving stronger, through gratitude.
I'm grateful.
Lisa began scribbling Thankology a decade ago, at the suggestion of guru Jeff Brooks ... and there has never been another book like it. Never. Ever. Lisa is one of a kind; the delightful mind behind the popular "thank you clinic" on SOFII.org. Her new book, uniquely thick with 165 pages of "thanks" techniques, is also one of a kind ...
... and intensely practical.
You can tell a lot about a how-to book from its table of contents. Trust me on this: I have more than 500 how-to books bending the shelves in my office. Reading their tables of contents has saved me a lot of time over the years. Sometimes the good stuff's right there up front in chapter one. Sometimes it's in chapter seven ... because you've started pushing monthly giving. Sometimes it's in chapter 15 ("How soon should I send my thanks?").
Thankology's table of contents anticipates your needs, from the broad to the highly specialized.
Broad? "The six building blocks your thank-you letter needs."
Specialized?" The second-time donation thank-you letter."
Highly specialized? "In lieu of flowers: The memorial donation thank-you letter."
Lisa even does some of the hardest writing for you, with an appendix (one of four biggies) devoted to a social media post that went viral: "50 qualities you can recognize in your donors to deepen connection." Like what?
"Thank you for holding fast to what's right."
"Thank you for every new future."
"Thank you for the victories little and large."
... and there are 47 more.
In his highly entertaining foreword to Thankology, Ken Burnett confirms: "Saying thank you properly is the best fundraising opportunity of them all, bar none."
Bar none.
"It’s time we realized this and elevated the subject, right up to where it belongs.
"We need to consider it [thanking] an ology. We need to respect it, study it, excel at it, to value it properly. This book does all that, and more.
"You don’t believe me? Well, now you can find within these pages shedloads of vibrant, recent, highly copyable examples of the multiple benefits that Thankology can bring." Get out your highlighter. Mark those two words: "highly copyable." Stealable.
You don't have to be terrific at thanking ... not yet, anyway. Just have Lisa Sargent's Thankology near at hand for guidance. This book is what creative directors call a "swipe file" — a time-saving, comprehensive source of inspiration and ideas.
Order your copy of Thankology here.
Due to a marital encounter with Simone Joyaux, ACFRE—a happy encounter that spanned 37 years of hikes where nonprofits were the foremost topic—Tom took up donor communications as a hobby and side hustle.
