Hot Take: Gift Recognition is for the Charity NOT the Donor

Now, before you come to the gate with your torches and pitchforks, hear us out...

We are huge proponents for saying thank you to our donors, and have written at length about why demonstrating gift impact is important and how to retain your donors by saying "thank you" effectively. Thanking your donors and interacting with them continuously throughout the year is paramount if you want them to continue to give to your nonprofit, but we want to distinguish the difference between stewardship and recognition.

Stewardship is every meaningful touchpoint and interaction after the first charitable gift is made to hopefully encourage that donor to give again or make a habit of supporting our organization.

Recognition is praising/thanking the donor in front of others to demonstrate their generosity to their community in the hopes that others join them in giving.

Donor recognition is one small part of donor stewardship, and it is more than possible to steward a donor who wants to remain anonymous. If someone does not want recognition, they can still be kept in the loop and privately thanked for their gift, but for our sake as the charity, we hope they allow us to recognize them publicly as well.

We have charitable gifts made to our clients all the time where the donor wishes to be fully anonymous, or a situation where the gift will only be made with the promise on anonymity. If that's truly what the donor wants, we will always respect that wish, however, we will always ask them something like this one time:

"Mrs. Smith, if you'd like to be anonymous, that is your right as a donor, and we will of course respect that wish, but if you allow us to use your name and recognize you publicly, it will help us get several more gifts of the same size to help even more people. Would you consider letting us recognize you publicly in these ways?"

At this point, some donors still say no, and that's okay! Again, we will respect their wishes regardless, but 9 times out of 10, they are turning down the recognition because they don't want to seem self-important or conceited, but when we let them know that the recognition is just demonstrating our partnership with them, and it will help us raise more money, they will consent to let us use their name. Usually the response is "Oh, well if it'll help you, sure, you can use my name."

And it does help. We want our organization to be endorsed by the most successful and philanthropic people in the community, and when people see those names on the list of who's given and who hasn't, it really makes a difference in who gives and gift size. Some people don't know at what level they want to start giving, so they'll check the donor list for friends and family to see what they gave.

Recognizing our donors is a win-win for everyone, and we love to say thank you, but the real reason gift recognition is so important, is that it draws attention and revenue to our fundraising programs.

What do you think? Do you disagree with our assessment about stewardship vs recognition? Register for a free virtual forum, we would love to hear your thoughts!