A few weeks ago I was on a phone call with my team and a strategic partner, and we were talking about the changes that are happening (and need to happen) in philanthropy. I brought up an anecdote that happened to a friend of mine, “Jaxson”, and I would like to share it here today because it reminds me that we still have a long way to go as an industry.
A gift of $1 million
Years ago, a friend of mine decided to give a large donation to charity. Jaxson was moved by this particular organization, which I won’t mention here because I don’t want to embarrass anyone. (That is not the point of my article).
Jaxson decided to give a $1 million gift to a nonprofit organization that had emotionally captivated him, and it didn’t take him long to rationalize the gift. In his heart, he thought it was the right thing to do to help people in need.
The way Jaxson explained it to me, wrote the check and thought about the lives that were going to be helped. He had random thoughts about the people he saw in his mind. A million dollars is a lot of money to give to charity by anyone’s standards.
Jaxson mailed the check in a package with a tracking number to the organization’s CEO.
What did you expect?
Want to know what Jaxson thought he was getting when the CEO of the nonprofit opened the envelope and pulled out the check for $1 million?
I was expecting a phone call. That was the first thing she expected.
Jaxson was excited about this organization and wanted to get involved and, in typical fashion, he wanted to make it big. The group had captured his imagination and he wanted to make a difference and know how the money was going to be used. Yes, he expected a phone call and a conversation.
The recognition I received
Days passed and Jaxson noticed the withdrawal of money from his account and kept waiting.
There was no call.
Instead, about a week after the account was withdrawn, Jaxson received a letter in the mail. It was a model letter. It was a shallow letter that was laser printed, and the signature was not an original and was only placed on recognition by a machine.
Jaxson was deflated and, yes, he was a little pissed off. To unburden himself, he walked to his assistant’s office and told her about the experience he was having, and then reiterated that in his business no letter should go without blue ink to any customer. He explained that as a major donor to other causes, donations, which have a substantial impact on programs, required a phone call.
If you get a great gift from someone, you have to pick up the damn phone and thank the person. It is the least that could be done for a significant donation.
Jaxson didn’t expect people to bow down to him at the charity where he donated. What he wanted, however, was to be properly recognized with a phone call, or even a personalized letter telling him specifically what the $1 million gift was going to do. He wanted to see the vision of the possibilities that were now going to happen with the funds that I had donated.
Maybe he was expecting too much.
What would you have done if you received $1 million?
My question to you is this: what would you do if you received a million dollars or even a hundred thousand dollars? would you pick up the phone Would you write a personalized letter informing the donor of the impact the gift would have on the lives of people in need? Would you invite the donor to see the programs firsthand?
Finally, after the CEO learned that Jaxson was unhappy with the way his gift was recognized, he received the long-awaited call from the CEO and insisted that Jaxson accept a plaque. Jaxson wasn’t expecting a plate or being placed on a pedestal. The CEO missed the point. Jaxson wanted personal recognition that recognized the impact he was going to have through the nonprofit organization and its programs. More importantly, he wanted to hear what was going to happen in the lives of others that would be for the betterment of him. He wanted to see the reality of making a difference in the world.
What would you have done if you were the top fundraiser or CEO who received a substantial gift?
Want to hear one last thing that might have been possible, but never happened? Had the CEO understood how to properly personalize and communicate with a major donor, there would have been another million or two dollars that Jaxson could have donated. But he never gave to this organization again.
The moral of the story is this: donors don’t have to give to your non-profit organization. They choose to give to your organization out of the goodness of your heart because they want to make a difference or leave a lasting legacy. Your nonprofit serves as a bridge between a donor’s ability and interest in donating and the impact your resources will have on your mission.