Gratitude in Action: Creative Ways to Thank Your Donors This Giving Season

With Thanksgiving and the year-end giving season right around the corner, now is the perfect time to show your donors how much their generosity means to you and your organization. Expressing genuine gratitude is an easy way to strengthen your relationship with your donors and renew their connection with your mission. 

To inspire your year-end stewardship efforts, we’ve tapped into the expertise of AFP volunteers Alex Abboud, Celeste Edmunds, Daniel Minich, MSOL, and Dzenan Berberovic, M.A., CFRE, who share their most effective strategies for showing heartfelt thanks.

Personalized Video Thank Yous

Alex: A video thank-you platform is one way charities and causes are distinguishing themselves. Several companies offer subscription platforms that do this.

For a charity, hospital, university, or college, these platforms offer a number of advantages. First, they stand out. While growing in popularity, they are still only used by a small share of organizations. Think about how many communications you get from causes you support, whether it’s through the mail, by email, or over the phone. How many stand out and are memorable? The ones that do probably did something different.

A video platform gives you the chance to convey your personality and show your authentic self. It can be hard for that to come through in a letter or email where non-verbal communication cues don’t exist. This platform also provides the opportunity to bring in others from your organization— board members, leadership, and volunteers—to say thanks. You can create videos that include more than one person, giving a donor the opportunity to hear about the impact of their gift from different perspectives.

Including a video platform as part of your donor stewardship program adds to your ways of thanking donors and can help you stand out and forge stronger connections. 

Handwritten Thank-You Cards

Celeste: Gratitude is at the heart of our organization (The Christmas Box International). Along with a personalized acknowledgment, I make it a priority to hand write thank-you cards to donors who meet a certain threshold (this threshold should be unique to each organization depending on the size of your contributions). This small gesture lets donors know just how much their support means to us and our mission. End-of-year giving is essential for most nonprofits, representing a large portion of annual fundraising revenue, and the holiday season inspires generosity, making it the perfect time to connect on a deeper level. At this time of year, many donors feel inspired to make a difference before the fiscal year ends, and some benefit from tax deductions as an added motivation. When we highlight how their support directly impacts our work and express genuine gratitude, it helps deepen their connection with our cause and often leads to long-term support—sustaining our work for years to come.

Handwritten thank-you cards offer a deeply personal touch, helping us recognize our donors and reinforce these relationships. I often receive a call, text, or email saying they can’t believe I took the time to write them a note. Many are so moved that they send a second donation or commit to becoming a recurring donor; others simply continue to give each year, which is just as meaningful. As we grow, we may consider using professional services or adjusting our criteria for sending handwritten notes, but for now, I even involve our board, with our chairperson giving a personal call when donors meet a certain threshold. Though time-intensive, these notes are an investment in our donor relationships. I set aside time weekly to thank donors or connect with those I’ve met, and for smaller nonprofits, focusing on top donors or longtime supporters can be both practical and impactful, making handwritten cards an invaluable part of your donor retention strategy.

Changing Your Giving Day to Gratitude Day

Daniel: Rather than participating in the traditional GivingTuesday, CSU Pueblo Foundation chooses to focus on the spirit of gratitude by hosting "Gratitude Tuesday." This initiative shifts the focus from asking for donations to stewardship and thanking those who have already invested in our students, programs, and mission. Weeks leading up to this day, board members, students, and volunteers come together to write personalized thank-you cards to donors, celebrating the impact of their generosity throughout the year, and we mail the letters the Friday before GivingTuesday.

Gratitude Tuesday strengthens our community by acknowledging the meaningful connections we share with our supporters. It serves as a moment to reflect on the successes made possible by their contributions and reinforces the importance of saying thank you. This event sets the stage for future philanthropy by ensuring that donors feel appreciated and recognized for the difference they make in the lives of our students.

Making Gratitude a Planned Part of Your Campaign

Dzenan: Philanthropy professionals focus a significant amount of time on building compelling campaigns that inspire heartfelt generosity. We know how vital generous support is to our missions, and we know the importance of our year-end outreach. I have found that preparing the donor relations and stewardship plan from the get-go, as you craft your year-end appeal, allows the stewardship efforts to operate as a cohesive part of the campaign, as opposed to being an independent campaign, or an afterthought. 

The stewardship phase of year-end campaigns should follow the same brand manifesto and messaging as the initial appeal. By preparing ahead of time, you can incorporate and time unique stewardship and engagement opportunities such as:

• Stories that show immediate impact
• Pre-developed communication journeys 
• Timely printed or digital communication
• Personalized outreach by program staff
• Unique handwritten stewardship from colleagues or board members
• Focused retention strategies for first-time supporters

As you work hard to develop your organization’s year-end campaign plan, I encourage you to draft an accompanying stewardship plan that fits the bandwidth of your organization.

Additional Year-End Resources

Don’t forget AFP is always here to help, especially during the stressful year-end giving season. Check out additional year-end giving resources such as on-demand webinars, AFP Connect discussions, and mental health articles, that can help you amplify your impact while taking care of your own wellbeing.