One of the biggest lessons I learned early on in my career came from the late great Tom Ellis, who we sadly lost this year. After every newscast, he would walk around the newsroom and thank every single person who worked on the newscast – the producers, the director, the audio operator, the editors, right down to the intern who was being paid in experience, rather than money, to work on a Saturday night.

Whether you are in TV news, public relations or any other profession, “thank you” are two of the most powerful words anyone can say – not just during the holidays, but throughout the year. Yet according to GuideStar, more than 60 percent of nonprofits either don’t thank their donors properly or in a timely way and some don’t do it at all.

Here are the best ways to make a thank you most effective:

• Make it personal – Adding personal details, such as names and information about the contribution and how it helped, make the person receiving the note feel seen and appreciated for their positive impact on the organization.
• Show effort – When time, thought and effort go into a thank you – it means that much more. According to NESN, one of the Boston Celtics rookies Grant Williams had candles with custom labels made that he handed out himself to Celtics personnel who don’t get cheered by fans for their work. This gift and the fact that Williams took time out of his busy practice and playing schedule to give them out personally endeared him to the organization.
• Know how they want to be thanked – According to the 2018 Global Trends in Giving report, which surveyed more than 6,000 people in over a hundred countries, 69 percent of people want to be thanked for their donations by email. Print letters were a distant second at 14 percent, followed by text at six percent and print postcard at five percent. Calling to express your gratitude may not be worth the effort. A 2019 study involving public television stations found making thank you calls didn’t make an impact on repeat donations.
• Make it public – Social media has created many opportunities to thank organizations and individuals by name in a way that brings positive attention to both them and you. When a reporter posts a positive story about your organization, retweet it and tag the reporter. This can help build the relationship with the reporter and will introduce the story to new audiences who may not have seen it before.
• Stay in touch – Don’t make the thank you note the only time you reach out to supporters. Send regular updates on the progress of your organization to enable donors to understand the continued impact of their contributions and so your organization remains on their minds when they consider to whom to donate in 2020. This can be done through email blasts, newsletters, and blog posts on your website.

Using these tips can help spread the gratitude all year long. Thank you for reading this.