Unsurprisingly, the excess of holiday celebrations in November and December can cause some serious remorse when January comes. People might regret the number of delicious-yet-fattening foods they ate, the amusingly festive sweaters they wore, or the amount of money they spent on gifts. It isn’t uncommon for people to wish they’d done things a little differently.

Unlike some holiday decisions, contributions to your organization are something no one should regret. Expressing your timely and sincere appreciation to donors and communicating the far-reaching and important outcomes made possible through their generosity are critical steps for preventing donor remorse. This month, think about ways you can improve stewardship and create deeply meaningful returns on the philanthropic investments your organization has received.

Ask & Act

• Have donors to my organization had any reason to regret making a contribution?
• If so, have I taken appropriate steps to repair donor remorse?
• If not, have I taken appropriate steps to avoid donor remorse in the future?
• What can I do to show donors how much their contributions have accomplished?
• What recent organizational updates can I share with donors to show them the impact of their contributions?

Take the time to make sure that donors to your organization know how worthwhile their contributions are.  Once they see the difference they can make, they are sure to continue investing year-after-year.

Now, go out and make magic happen.

We invite you to join our Advancing Donor-Centric Philanthropy group on LinkedIn