FundSvcs Community

Currently, all gift receipt letters are signed and sent from our office; the coaches receive a report of all the gifts received and are encouraged to send thank you's on their own. This was a change in process. The old process was that coaches used to sign the actual gift receipt letters, but because it was slowing our process down, we went away from that. Now, we're getting a bit of push-back from the coaches, saying that they really liked to sign the letters from our office (because it was much easier for them to sign a finished letter than to create their own). I'm guessing our current process is far more typical in the industry compared to our old process, but just wanted to hear from the community out there if that's the case? Thank you! -- *Gwen Donev* Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu Office: 507.933.6515

Based on my experience, and professional opinion, your current process is the correct process. Not only does your old process slow things down, but you have no way of knowing whether the receipt got into the mail. Furthermore, donor relations surveys suggest that donors do not care who mails a tax document (BTW, they do not have to be signed), only that they are received in a timely manner. What donors WANT to receive from coaches (and all department recipients) are SEPARATE impact statements expressing not only thanks but an explanation regarding the ultimate use of the gift. John John H. Taylor Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting 2604 Sevier St. Durham, NC 27705 johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com 919.816.5903 (cell/text) Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987 On Mon, Apr 8, 2019 at 8:57 AM Gwen Donev <gwendonev@gustavus.edu> wrote: > Currently, all gift receipt letters are signed and sent from our office; > the coaches receive a report of all the gifts received and are encouraged > to send thank you's on their own. > > This was a change in process. The old process was that coaches used to > sign the actual gift receipt letters, but because it was slowing our > process down, we went away from that. Now, we're getting a bit of > push-back from the coaches, saying that they really liked to sign the > letters from our office (because it was much easier for them to sign a > finished letter than to create their own). > > I'm guessing our current process is far more typical in the industry > compared to our old process, but just wanted to hear from the community out > there if that's the case? > > Thank you! > > -- > *Gwen Donev* > > Director of Advancement Services > > Gustavus Adolphus College > > 800 West College Avenue > > Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 > > > > Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu > > Office: 507.933.6515 >

I just took a class about receipts and acknowledgments and it was suggested that they be two separate items. Maybe you could create a standard acknowledgement for the coaches at the same time you do the receipts. You could send the receipts out right away and then send the letters over to the coaches for them to sign. The letters could be changed every quarter so your donor’s are not getting the same letter all the time and the coaches could help give you some ideas of the different happens they might want to promote each quarter. Thank you, Cynthia Hornbeck [cid:image001.png@01D4EDE2.4EFF8F30] University Advancement 940-898-3894 CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu> [https://www.blackbaud.com/files/training/jobaids/CSOD/Badges/certification_b/PRO_Orange.png] From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG] On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Monday, April 08, 2019 7:57 AM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG Subject: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches Currently, all gift receipt letters are signed and sent from our office; the coaches receive a report of all the gifts received and are encouraged to send thank you's on their own. This was a change in process. The old process was that coaches used to sign the actual gift receipt letters, but because it was slowing our process down, we went away from that. Now, we're getting a bit of push-back from the coaches, saying that they really liked to sign the letters from our office (because it was much easier for them to sign a finished letter than to create their own). I'm guessing our current process is far more typical in the industry compared to our old process, but just wanted to hear from the community out there if that's the case? Thank you! -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515

I'm wondering if anyone out there has a creative way that you work with other departments across campus to make the separate thank you note task manageable for everyone? We have scheduled reports that get sent out to the various departments with the donor names & addresses so they can do their own thank you cards, but the feedback we get is that it is too labor intensive and not a top priority for them. Is there an out of the box way to make the task easier for them without doubling the work or expense in our office? Thank you, Gwen On Mon, Apr 8, 2019 at 8:09 AM Hornbeck, Cynthia <CHornbeck1@twu.edu> wrote: > I just took a class about receipts and acknowledgments and it was > suggested that they be two separate items. > > > > Maybe you could create a standard acknowledgement for the coaches at the > same time you do the receipts. You could send the receipts out right away > and then send the letters over to the coaches for them to sign. The > letters could be changed every quarter so your donor’s are not getting the > same letter all the time and the coaches could help give you some ideas of > the different happens they might want to promote each quarter. > > > > > > Thank you, > > Cynthia Hornbeck > > University Advancement > > 940-898-3894 > > CHornbeck1@twu.edu > > [image: > https://www.blackbaud.com/files/training/jobaids/CSOD/Badges/certification_b/PRO_Orange.png] > > > > > > *From:* Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto: > FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG] *On Behalf Of *Gwen Donev > *Sent:* Monday, April 08, 2019 7:57 AM > *To:* FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG > *Subject:* [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches > > > > Currently, all gift receipt letters are signed and sent from our office; > the coaches receive a report of all the gifts received and are encouraged > to send thank you's on their own. > > > > This was a change in process. The old process was that coaches used to > sign the actual gift receipt letters, but because it was slowing our > process down, we went away from that. Now, we're getting a bit of > push-back from the coaches, saying that they really liked to sign the > letters from our office (because it was much easier for them to sign a > finished letter than to create their own). > > > > I'm guessing our current process is far more typical in the industry > compared to our old process, but just wanted to hear from the community out > there if that's the case? > > > > Thank you! > > > > -- > > *Gwen Donev* > > Director of Advancement Services > > Gustavus Adolphus College > > 800 West College Avenue > > Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 > > > > Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu > > Office: 507.933.6515 > -- *Gwen Donev* Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu Office: 507.933.6515

Nudge them to stop doing it for gifts under $1,000. Voila! Aaron Aaron Forrest CPA Senior Director Gift and Donor Services University of Rochester Office of Advancement Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni and Advancement Center 300 East River Road Rochester NY 14627 Office 585.275.2799 / Fax 585-273-4558 Email aaron.forrest@rochester.edu [Description: Description: Description: cid:image001.gif@01C92E92.3629C5E0] <http://www.rochester.edu/> P Please consider the environment before printing this email. Confidentiality Notice: This message, including attachments may contain confidential information. Any unauthorized use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. From: Advancement Services Discussion List <FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2019 1:34 PM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG Subject: Re: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches I'm wondering if anyone out there has a creative way that you work with other departments across campus to make the separate thank you note task manageable for everyone? We have scheduled reports that get sent out to the various departments with the donor names & addresses so they can do their own thank you cards, but the feedback we get is that it is too labor intensive and not a top priority for them. Is there an out of the box way to make the task easier for them without doubling the work or expense in our office? Thank you, Gwen On Mon, Apr 8, 2019 at 8:09 AM Hornbeck, Cynthia <CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu>> wrote: I just took a class about receipts and acknowledgments and it was suggested that they be two separate items. Maybe you could create a standard acknowledgement for the coaches at the same time you do the receipts. You could send the receipts out right away and then send the letters over to the coaches for them to sign. The letters could be changed every quarter so your donor’s are not getting the same letter all the time and the coaches could help give you some ideas of the different happens they might want to promote each quarter. Thank you, Cynthia Hornbeck [cid:image002.png@01D4F06C.6C316E20] University Advancement 940-898-3894 CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu> [https://www.blackbaud.com/files/training/jobaids/CSOD/Badges/certification_b/PRO_Orange.png] From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>] On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Monday, April 08, 2019 7:57 AM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> Subject: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches Currently, all gift receipt letters are signed and sent from our office; the coaches receive a report of all the gifts received and are encouraged to send thank you's on their own. This was a change in process. The old process was that coaches used to sign the actual gift receipt letters, but because it was slowing our process down, we went away from that. Now, we're getting a bit of push-back from the coaches, saying that they really liked to sign the letters from our office (because it was much easier for them to sign a finished letter than to create their own). I'm guessing our current process is far more typical in the industry compared to our old process, but just wanted to hear from the community out there if that's the case? Thank you! -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515 -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515

I would like to know the answer to that question also. We are a small shop and not doing as well as we need to on our donor acknowledgements. We send out a report to each department once a month, but I am not sure what these departments are doing with that information? I know some of the departments are really good at sending out very well written acknowledgements, but I am not sure what most of them are doing. Thank you, Cynthia Hornbeck [cid:image001.png@01D4F066.7DB4AC30] University Advancement 940-898-3894 CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu> [https://www.blackbaud.com/files/training/jobaids/CSOD/Badges/certification_b/PRO_Orange.png] From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG] On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2019 12:34 PM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG Subject: Re: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches I'm wondering if anyone out there has a creative way that you work with other departments across campus to make the separate thank you note task manageable for everyone? We have scheduled reports that get sent out to the various departments with the donor names & addresses so they can do their own thank you cards, but the feedback we get is that it is too labor intensive and not a top priority for them. Is there an out of the box way to make the task easier for them without doubling the work or expense in our office? Thank you, Gwen On Mon, Apr 8, 2019 at 8:09 AM Hornbeck, Cynthia <CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu>> wrote: I just took a class about receipts and acknowledgments and it was suggested that they be two separate items. Maybe you could create a standard acknowledgement for the coaches at the same time you do the receipts. You could send the receipts out right away and then send the letters over to the coaches for them to sign. The letters could be changed every quarter so your donor’s are not getting the same letter all the time and the coaches could help give you some ideas of the different happens they might want to promote each quarter. Thank you, Cynthia Hornbeck [cid:image001.png@01D4F066.7DB4AC30] University Advancement 940-898-3894 CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu> [https://www.blackbaud.com/files/training/jobaids/CSOD/Badges/certification_b/PRO_Orange.png] From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>] On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Monday, April 08, 2019 7:57 AM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> Subject: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches Currently, all gift receipt letters are signed and sent from our office; the coaches receive a report of all the gifts received and are encouraged to send thank you's on their own. This was a change in process. The old process was that coaches used to sign the actual gift receipt letters, but because it was slowing our process down, we went away from that. Now, we're getting a bit of push-back from the coaches, saying that they really liked to sign the letters from our office (because it was much easier for them to sign a finished letter than to create their own). I'm guessing our current process is far more typical in the industry compared to our old process, but just wanted to hear from the community out there if that's the case? Thank you! -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515 -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515

We do the same thing – we are also a small shop and working on improving our donor acknowledgement process. In our case, I’ve started trying to get copies of thank-yous that the programs send (for those of them that actually do this), or at least some kind of record that they sent something, so that I can make a note on the donor’s record. But I’m also not sure how much our different departments are actually doing with this info – some of them understand the importance of sending thank-you letters, but it’s not a priority for all of them. In any case, all gifts are receipted and acknowledged by our office too. We usually tweak our acknowledgement letters a little bit to include more information about the program, rather than being a standard institution-oriented acknowledgement letter (we have one program in particular that gets a lot of donations, so we just have a separate letter template for gifts to that program). That way it’s not as big a deal if the program director doesn’t have time to write a separate thank-you letter. Katie From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG] On Behalf Of Hornbeck, Cynthia Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2019 2:03 PM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG Subject: Re: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches I would like to know the answer to that question also. We are a small shop and not doing as well as we need to on our donor acknowledgements. We send out a report to each department once a month, but I am not sure what these departments are doing with that information? I know some of the departments are really good at sending out very well written acknowledgements, but I am not sure what most of them are doing. Thank you, Cynthia Hornbeck [cid:image001.png@01D4F070.CA8B57C0] University Advancement 940-898-3894 CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu> [https://www.blackbaud.com/files/training/jobaids/CSOD/Badges/certification_b/PRO_Orange.png] From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG] On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2019 12:34 PM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG Subject: Re: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches I'm wondering if anyone out there has a creative way that you work with other departments across campus to make the separate thank you note task manageable for everyone? We have scheduled reports that get sent out to the various departments with the donor names & addresses so they can do their own thank you cards, but the feedback we get is that it is too labor intensive and not a top priority for them. Is there an out of the box way to make the task easier for them without doubling the work or expense in our office? Thank you, Gwen On Mon, Apr 8, 2019 at 8:09 AM Hornbeck, Cynthia <CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu>> wrote: I just took a class about receipts and acknowledgments and it was suggested that they be two separate items. Maybe you could create a standard acknowledgement for the coaches at the same time you do the receipts. You could send the receipts out right away and then send the letters over to the coaches for them to sign. The letters could be changed every quarter so your donor’s are not getting the same letter all the time and the coaches could help give you some ideas of the different happens they might want to promote each quarter. Thank you, Cynthia Hornbeck [cid:image001.png@01D4F070.CA8B57C0] University Advancement 940-898-3894 CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu> [https://www.blackbaud.com/files/training/jobaids/CSOD/Badges/certification_b/PRO_Orange.png] From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>] On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Monday, April 08, 2019 7:57 AM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> Subject: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches Currently, all gift receipt letters are signed and sent from our office; the coaches receive a report of all the gifts received and are encouraged to send thank you's on their own. This was a change in process. The old process was that coaches used to sign the actual gift receipt letters, but because it was slowing our process down, we went away from that. Now, we're getting a bit of push-back from the coaches, saying that they really liked to sign the letters from our office (because it was much easier for them to sign a finished letter than to create their own). I'm guessing our current process is far more typical in the industry compared to our old process, but just wanted to hear from the community out there if that's the case? Thank you! -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515 -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515

We’ve had some luck with providing the basic name and address fields of donors in a periodic download so that the department can print out pre-designed, pre-signed postcards or envelopes with a handwritten note for larger gifts. One department currently gets an automated weekly Excel report of all of its designated donations with email, phone numbers and mailing address so that the department head can decide how he wants to contact and thank the donor based on whether or not he knows them, size of gift, etc. No extra work for us! Haven’t had pushback about this – they are eager to know and thank their donors and we certainly appreciate the effort. We do not track what other departments actually send out at this point but it would be nice. Best, Lisa Lisa Keaney Director, Advancement Services Advancement Office Suffolk University 73 Tremont St., Boston, MA Mailing: 8 Ashburton Pl., Boston, MA 02108 Telephone: 617-573-8045 lkeaney@suffolk.edu<mailto:lkeaney@suffolk.edu> | www.suffolk.edu<http://www.suffolk.edu/> [cid:image003.png@01D4F08D.21124F10] From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG] On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Thursday, April 11, 2019 1:34 PM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG Subject: Re: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches I'm wondering if anyone out there has a creative way that you work with other departments across campus to make the separate thank you note task manageable for everyone? We have scheduled reports that get sent out to the various departments with the donor names & addresses so they can do their own thank you cards, but the feedback we get is that it is too labor intensive and not a top priority for them. Is there an out of the box way to make the task easier for them without doubling the work or expense in our office? Thank you, Gwen On Mon, Apr 8, 2019 at 8:09 AM Hornbeck, Cynthia <CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu>> wrote: I just took a class about receipts and acknowledgments and it was suggested that they be two separate items. Maybe you could create a standard acknowledgement for the coaches at the same time you do the receipts. You could send the receipts out right away and then send the letters over to the coaches for them to sign. The letters could be changed every quarter so your donor’s are not getting the same letter all the time and the coaches could help give you some ideas of the different happens they might want to promote each quarter. Thank you, Cynthia Hornbeck [cid:image001.png@01D4F08B.EE625890] University Advancement 940-898-3894 CHornbeck1@twu.edu<mailto:CHornbeck1@twu.edu> [https://www.blackbaud.com/files/training/jobaids/CSOD/Badges/certification_b/PRO_Orange.png] From: Advancement Services Discussion List [mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG>] On Behalf Of Gwen Donev Sent: Monday, April 08, 2019 7:57 AM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG<mailto:FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> Subject: [FUNDSVCS] Gift receipts vs donor thank you's from coaches Currently, all gift receipt letters are signed and sent from our office; the coaches receive a report of all the gifts received and are encouraged to send thank you's on their own. This was a change in process. The old process was that coaches used to sign the actual gift receipt letters, but because it was slowing our process down, we went away from that. Now, we're getting a bit of push-back from the coaches, saying that they really liked to sign the letters from our office (because it was much easier for them to sign a finished letter than to create their own). I'm guessing our current process is far more typical in the industry compared to our old process, but just wanted to hear from the community out there if that's the case? Thank you! -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515 -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515