Mastering Donor Appreciation Gifts: Building Your Strategy
Regardless of your nonprofit’s size or focus, donors are essential to your nonprofit’s operations, infusing your team with the means and motivation to pursue your mission. And with nearly $500 billion in charitable donations hitting the nonprofit sector in 2023, there’s a lot for nonprofits to be grateful for.
But saying “thanks” is just the beginning. How you show your donors appreciation can make the difference between securing donor loyalty and seeing them walk away.
This is where donor appreciation gifts, the best way to show your thankfulness to supporters, come in. In this guide, we’ll review the ins and outs of donor appreciation gifts—why they’re important, how to use them as a donor stewardship tool, and examples to inspire you.
What are the benefits of strong donor appreciation efforts?
Putting effort into strategic donor appreciation is crucial to building long-term donor relationships. Donor appreciation efforts can help your nonprofit:
Improve donor retention. Maintaining the relationships you already have with existing donors is more cost-effective than constantly trying to acquire new ones. A key reason that donors stop supporting nonprofits is that they never got thanked for donating, highlighting the importance of appreciation in maintaining donor engagement.
Enhance loyalty. Appreciation efforts show donors that their contributions are truly valued and important to your mission, which can increase their emotional investment in your nonprofit (especially when beneficiaries express their gratitude as well).
Inspire more giving. Social proof, or the idea that people are more likely to do something if they see someone they trust do it first, occurs within tight-knit supporter communities. When prospective donors see people they look up to getting recognized for their contributions, they might be inspired to give for the first time or to increase their giving level.
What are donor appreciation gifts?
Donor appreciation gifts are items or awards given to supporters as a token of your nonprofit’s gratitude. The main purpose of these gifts is to express gratitude and encourage ongoing support for your mission.
Why should nonprofits offer donor appreciation gifts?
Now that you understand why showing gratitude is important, let’s explore why donor appreciation gifts are our favorite way to do so.
They can help retain major donors. Around 80% of your nonprofit’s revenue comes from just 20% of your top donors, meaning major donor cultivation should be a priority. Research shows that as the value of donor contributions increases, the donor retention rate also increases. Valuable donor appreciation gifts, like luxury experiences or memberships, can help you make an impression on major contributors, potentially inspiring them to increase their donations in the future.
They can be low-cost. If your nonprofit is concerned about spending a portion of your budget on valuable donor appreciation gifts, don’t worry—certain partners, like the Dormie Network Foundation, can provide donor appreciation gifts at no cost, minimizing the financial burden for your nonprofit.
They’re a physical memento of donor impact. A thoughtful, tangible token of appreciation can help your donors remember their effect on your mission and how much you cherish their support.
How to Build Your Donor Appreciation Gifts Strategy
Your donor appreciation gifts should be intentional and complement your overarching stewardship strategy. Start building your own donor appreciation gifts approach with these steps.
Conduct In-Depth Donor Analysis
Understanding your donors’ motivations, demographic data, and other information empowers you to pick gifts that instantly resonate. Create a donor profile for each donor complete with the following information:
Wealth/giving level
Interests/hobbies
Past donation history
Personal connections to your cause
Building profiles for every donor can be time-consuming. To streamline the process, reuse information whenever possible and fill in individual details later.
Set Realistic, Clear Goals
Like any other nonprofit process, setting goals from the start helps you define and structure your path to success. Use the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timebound) framework to come up with ambitious yet accomplishable goals for your donor appreciation gifts offering. For instance, let’s say your nonprofit is planning donor appreciation gifts for contributors to your charity golf tournament. Your SMART goal might look like this:
Award donors who contributed more than $15,000 a golf club membership through Dormie Network within the next month to inspire them to upgrade their donation by at least 10% for next year’s tournament.
Compile Donor Appreciation Gift Ideas
The donor appreciation gifts you select can make or break your strategy. Brainstorm a list of ideas by:
Gauging existing assets for sourcing gifts (such as sponsorships)
Surveying donors for their opinions on which gifts they’d like to see offered
Researching large-scale nonprofit trends
Looking into in-kind sponsorship opportunities
Theming them after recent fundraisers or initiatives
Set Program Guidelines Based on Best Practices
Now that you have a good idea of the program’s purpose and components, you can put it all together by establishing best practices. In this step, polish your program by following these best practices:
Personalize the gifts so they feel more genuine and impactful to your donors.
Align gifts with your mission so donors can understand the connection between it and their donations.
Award gifts promptly so donors feel the connection between the gift and their support.
Offer gifts in many different categories to appeal to various donors’ interests and keep your appreciation strategies fresh.
Maintain consistency within tiers so donors don’t feel left out or shortchanged.
Scale the gift to the donor so donors feel like their contribution has been appropriately recognized.
Measure effectiveness so you know how to improve in the future.
Regularly Gauge and Adapt Your Strategy
Once you’ve launched your donor appreciation gifts, watch carefully to note any changes,
Donor Appreciation Gift Examples
Before we get into the examples, you should understand the donor pyramid, which is used to visually represent the amount of donors at each tier of your giving community. For instance, prospective donors are at the bottom because there are more of them and they haven’t contributed any money to your mission yet. It helps to view donor appreciation gifts in relation to this pyramid so you can see the strategy and rationale behind each choice based on the donor’s place in the pyramid.
Prospective Donors
Who they are: Potential supporters who are currently in the fundraising appeal pipeline.
Example gift: Personalized welcome kit with past impact reports, an FAQ sheet, and a message from a beneficiary
Strategy: This helps establish a positive first impression with your organization as one that values people who haven’t even formally given yet.
First-Time Donors
Who they are: Donors who have contributed to your mission once before.
Example gift: Handwritten thank-you card
Strategy: Your nonprofit immediately goes the extra mile to not only say thanks, but to take the extra moment to add a personal touch.
Recurring Donors
Who they are: Donors who contribute regularly to your nonprofit (usually once a month or year).
Example gift: Custom events calendar, meet-and-greet with beneficiaries, and an invitation to an exclusive luncheon for recurring donors
Strategy: Recurring donors show a special interest in your long-term stability and success, making them more likely to be deeply connected to your mission and organization. Make it easy to stay in touch with a convenient events calendar and to build community at one of your exclusive luncheons.
Planned Givers
Who they are: Donors who donate significantly to your nonprofit and have bequeathed money to your cause in their will.
Example gift: membership to an exclusive group of planned givers known as the Legacy Society and a commemorative plaque
Strategy: Donors that leave you money in their wills demonstrate above-and-beyond dedication to and trust in your mission. The Legacy Society can bring unique perks, like exclusive outings and recognition events, while the plaque represents their lasting impact on your mission.
Major Donors
Who they are: The tier of donors that contributes the most money to your cause (usually $30,000 or more).
Example gift: Luxury in-kind experience, like a Dormie Network membership
Strategy: See below
It’s best to focus your donor appreciation gift strategy on major donors when possible. The more valuable the gift, the more likely the donor is to remain interested in your organization and renew their support.
In particular, we recommend gifting in-kind experiences to major donors whenever possible. In-kind experiences help your donors experience the positive impact of your mission firsthand. For instance, let’s say your nonprofit focuses on providing affordable youth sports programming, and you decide to gift a major donor a Dormie Network membership. This opportunity empowers them to understand how golf’s giving power can create a positive experience and equate that experience to your organization's gift. You’re best equipped to provide those meaningful, hands-on experiences with high-value donor appreciation gifts, and they can pay off in a big way for your fundraising efforts!
As you start your nonprofit’s journey with donor appreciation gifts, keep your donors at the center of the process. You could even include major donors to sit in on some of your planning meetings to provide initial feedback. It will take time for you to hone your strategy fully—in the meantime, don’t be afraid to try new things, and let your genuine gratitude for your donors take the lead.