Research shows that a welcome letter is a valuable tool to increase the percent of first-time donors who will give a second gift. I explain the welcome package in Keep Your Donors. The Domain Group (now acquired by Merkle Inc.) wrote a paper (based on research) about welcome letters. The welcome package is not your thank-you letter!
At the APC Forum in January 2012, Adrian Sargeant talked about complaint programs. It’s critical that donors (and your clients and other stakeholders) have the opportunity to complain – and then, of course, you must respond to the complaint. In other words, your organization must have a complaint program (or, as the Brits say, a complaint scheme).
So here’s my thought: Introduce the complaint program (and the telephone and email address of the complaint person) in your welcome letter. And introduce the idea program in the welcome letter, too. Who is your complaint and idea person for donors? The fundraiser. Who is it for others
