Making Donors Feel Valued

Did you know that studies have shown that a person needs to be thanked eight times before they actually feel thanked? Making donors feel that their donation is valued and that they are involved in your work is no easy task – it takes a commitment. Taking the time to talk with donors and prospective donors is an essential part of our work. Take the two scenarios below, both of which are real food shelf stories:

Scenario A: A community member decides to hold a food drive for a local food shelf at her workplace. She makes preliminary arrangements with the food shelf and stops by to pick up some food shelf handouts that she can hand out to interested coworkers.

When she enters the food shelf, she lets the volunteer know that she’s going to be holding a food drive for them. “We don’t pick up the food” the volunteer responds. She then asks if she can have some food shelf handouts that she can give to food donors. The volunteer sighs, and says, “I guess…I’ll have to go find something.” He returns, hands her the brochures, and the community member leaves. She remarks later that she felt like she had “bothered” them by visiting.

When she brings the donation to the food shelf it is a rainy day and she asks for assistance getting the several bags of food into the building. The food shelf workers again make the donor feel that she is in some way inconveniencing them. She shares her negative experience with the organization with her family, friends and co-workers. She does not repeat her donation.

Scenario B: A community member comes into a food shelf with a food donation for the first time. The worker thanks the person for their generous donation, and talks with the donor while the donation is weighed and recorded. She informs the donor about the agency’s history, service policies and procedures, the rising need in the community, and how they are rapidly outgrowing their space. The donor leaves feeling informed, thanked, and involved.

A year later, that same donor comes back to the agency and lets them know that a space he owns is available for them to move into, if they are still looking to expand. The food shelf receives a good deal on the space and is able to expand their services greatly in their new location.

Valley Outreach food shelf in Stillwater can attest to the importance of communicating with donors – Valley Outreach was the food shelf in Scenario B. This is a great example of how important it is to train staff and volunteers in the importance of community and donor relationships, and how vital it is to make sure your donors truly feel appreciated!