A few weeks ago I heard from Jen, the Comms Manager at a New Zealand environmental charity I’d done some work with.  She had brilliant news. They’d found out the day before that Hector's and Maui's dolphins around New Zealand are now better protected, following (though not exclusively due to) a long campaign by her organisation. 

Jen was contacting me because her CEO and her Fundraising Manager colleague were both out of town when the news broke. She said she’d told the face to face fundraising teams on the street the good news. And emailed those who’d signed a petition to protect the dolphins. But did I think they ought to tell the donors? And if so what should they say?   

My first response was one of pure joy. This wonderful woman was actively thinking about who to share news of this success with. Then I got more excited when I realized Jen was worrying about the donors even though, structurally speaking, they weren’t her responsibility. It shouldn’t be such a rare thing that hearing it warms this old fundraiser’s heart. But, in my experience, it doesn’t happen often enough. As soon as the CEO was back in the office he signed a letter to donors Jen had prepared which was short, personal and to the point.  It said – and I paraphrase- “We’ve just heard this news and we wanted to share it with you straight away.  Because you were part of this success.  Thank you”. 

Their donors responded positively to hearing this news in a timely way. I know because they told the CEO so. And this whole experience made me wonder why more of us don’t respond like Jen. Why do I so rarely hear from the charities I support (and feel part of) when something important happens?  It’s so simple to do. I know the evidence is thin on the ground as to whether it actually increases retention. But heck – shouldn’t we sometimes do things just because they are the right thing to do? I think telling our donors when they’ve helped us achieve our goals (or even get part way there) is one of those things.