Have you ever donated some money to a non-profit and received a thank you pack in the mail?
Some of the non-profit donor thank you packs have just a letter, some have a coupon to redeem a gift, and others include the gift. Each of those solutions works, depending on the size of the organization, and the type of donors who give money.
But we have a clever idea that could help boost donations. How?
Including the simply elegant photo insert card in your donor thank you packs.
How to use photo insert cards to boost non-profit donations
The thing with sending photo insert cards in donor welcome packs is that they aren’t actually a gift for the donor. Rather, they are a gift for the donor to send to someone else. Tricky, we know… but it works!
To understand why this tactic works, we need to look at the science behind giving and happiness.
Science has proven that giving back feels good
When you give to somebody, endorphins are released, making you feel good. Typically related to exercising or eating spicy foods, once endorphins are released, that “high” can last for hours.
So you give something—money, goods, or service—and that good feelings lasts.
Achieving the “helper’s high” with donor thank you packs
But here’s the thing with endorphins and donor thank you packets: there’s no way you can mail a donor pack and have it there before the endorphins wear off.
So you do the next best thing: put together a thorough, personable donor welcome packet that capitalizes on that “high” feeling.
- Start with a short, hand-signed welcome letter. Be sure to thank them for the specific amount they donated, and tell them how those funds will be used.
- Include pictures of your organization. If you want to make the biggest impact, include photos of the places or people that money is helping.
- Tell them how to follow you. Whether you share your organization’s deeds on social media, through email, or a quarterly newsletter, keep them engaged!
- Give them a gift. Here’s where photo cards come into play. Read on!
How photo cards can grow the “helper’s high”—and boost donations
Here’s what you do: order photo insert cards or make some custom printed cards. The goal is to design a photo greeting card to give to donors that they will in turn send to someone they know.
On the cover, add a photo relating to what your organization does, but leave it generic enough to work as an everyday greeting card image.
Leave the inside of the card blank so the card sender (the donor who received your welcome packet) can write their own personal message.
On the back, add your non-profit’s logo, website URL, and brief message. Keep it short enough not to overwhelm the overall design of the card, but include enough to entice card recipients to visit your website—and donate to you.
Types of photos to use for donor packet greeting cards
- Nature or wildlife
- Cityscape or photo of the town your organization is in
- Popular area landmark (be sure to check copyrights first)
- A project your team and volunteers completed
- Have an artist on staff or a donor or volunteer artist? Have them create something that aligns with your mission.
- Add a simple message like “Have a beautiful day”. If you’re sending these out near Christmas, add a cheerful Christmas design.
In giving these photo greeting cards to donors, you’re thanking them for donating to you (that’s the fist “helper’s high”), and you’re encouraging to send a beautiful, personalized card to someone they care about (that’s the second “helper’s high”).
Does your non-profit send thank you packs?
If not, it’s never too late to start. Whether you go all-out with letters, photos, cards, and brochures, or start with just a simple, personalized email, donor thank you packs are a sensible marketing tactic to help you achieve donation goals.
If you do send thank you packs, what do you include in them? More importantly, are your donor packs successful?