With the exception of phone calls and some video interactions, most Major Gift Officers, Mid-Level Officers, and Planned Giving Officers have had to find creative ways to stay in touch with their best donors to replace their previous one-on-one interactions, including face-to-face meetings.

Our team has heard about some successful touch points that our clients have used that will hopefully be helpful and spark some other creative ideas that you might consider.

Here are just a few:

• A health charity sent an antique key as a stewardship touchpoint, thanking donors for being the "key" to finding a cure for cancer. (One donor ended up responding with a gift for $50,000. Her previous giving was $10,000 in 2018 and $25,000 in 2019).
  
• One organization mailed a donor a one-page personalized lifetime giving report which showed the donor’s total giving and then broke it down into how they funded programs and services:  “You have provided a night of shelter for 480 mothers and children, empowering them to find their strength and live a new life. And you have given 1,359 children the opportunity to learn how to treat each other with respect, equipping them with what they need to end violence at every stage of life.”
• A Valentine’s Day card was sent to the donor with a note inside reading, “You make change possible. Year after year, people in your community are able to change their lives because of your support. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for believing in the work we do and helping people living in crisis. Your longtime commitment is saving lives. Happy Valentine’s Day.” 
• A Major Gift Officer recorded a personal video greeting to wish a donor Happy Birthday and sent it to them through e-mail. The donor was blown away with gratitude that the MGO remembered their special day! 
• For a special Thanksgiving touch point, the young kids in a social service program made a “turkey handprint” inside a card with a pre-printed message that read, “This isn’t just a turkey, as anyone can see. I made it with my hand, which is part of me. It’s made with lots of love, especially to say, I hope you have a very Happy Thanksgiving Day!” Then they signed their first name and age with a marker. We heard about several donors who were brought to tears when they opened that card.
• MGOs at a major symphony invited a small group of major donors to a private virtual wine and concert night with two musicians over Zoom. It was so well received that they are planning to have a second one very soon.
• An international relief and development organization that hasn’t been able to take their major donors on actual mission trips have created virtual ones. They’ve been incredibly successful. Donors have been “taken to the scene” to small villages and have provided significant gifts to fund the building of new homes, fishing villages, schools, and overall have helped transform entire communities.
  

For Richard, Jeff, myself, and our entire team, we’ve all been so inspired to hear such incredible and heartwarming stories of successful and creative touch points being done with donors.

As you think about similar and/or new ideas that you can use, remember that touch points are designed to: 

• Reinforce that you understand the passions and interests of each of your donors.
  
• To report back and thank your donors for how their gifts are making a difference.

By doing this, you will continue building the most authentic donor relationships possible and that will lead to greater loyalty and in turn, giving to your cause.

Carter

To learn more about creating and planning Touch Points with your donors, check out our on-demand course, "Touch Points: Connecting with Donors between Asks."