Episode Transcript
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Keith Greer, CFRE (00:00):
There are a
few things that weigh heavier on
a fundraiser's heart than donorthank yous that don't feel
right.
Maybe it's the pile of notes onyour desk that you never get to
.
Maybe it's the rushed emailthat you send just to clear the
task from your list.
Or maybe it's the guilt thatcomes when you realize your
gratitude didn't sound like you,and you're not alone in that.
(00:21):
Every fundraiser I know hasfelt the tension between wanting
to be warm and specific andsimply not having the hours to
keep up.
And after the break I'll tellyou about one organization I
worked at where the expectationsfor donor thank yous were so
impossible they nearly broke me.
And how, looking back now, Ican see a rhythm that would have
(00:44):
made it not just possible butsteady.
So let's talk fundraising.
Let's stay with this questionof thank yous, because it's more
than just a polite gesture.
Gratitude is at the very heartof fundraising.
It's the space where trust iseither strengthened or quietly
(01:04):
eroded.
But here's the space wheretrust is either strengthened or
quietly eroded.
But here's the problem.
The pressure to make everythank you highly personalized
can crush even the mostdedicated fundraiser, and I want
to tell you a story about that.
At one of the nonprofits Iworked at.
The CEO had been leading theorganization for more than 30
years.
In that community everyone knewthem.
They were the face of theorganization and, like a lot of
(01:27):
people outside the world ofprofessional fundraising, they
once heard that the best way toretain donors was to send
handwritten, personalized thankyou notes, not just a handful of
them, all of them.
And because this was a smallcommunity, the CEO believed
these notes should referencepersonal connections, things
like it was great running intoyou at the grocery store last
(01:50):
week, or I enjoyed playingtennis with you, or your father
was bragging about you the otherday, and I couldn't agree more.
Now here's the kicker.
The CEO wanted me to draft allof those notes, not just the
formal part of the letter, butthe personal details too.
They somehow expected me toknow who they played tennis with
(02:12):
, who they bumped into at thestore and what conversations
they were having with people'sfamily members.
And it wasn't for a dozendonors, it was for hundreds.
We were talking about 500 giftscoming in each week for a month
or two after a mailing went out, and at my previous shop we
used one thank you template permonth and maybe the executive
(02:33):
director would scribble a quickpersonal note on a few of them.
That felt manageable.
But 500 individualized thankyous filled with details that I
couldn't possibly know, thatwasn't just overwhelming, it was
impossible.
And, I'll be honest, it left mefeeling guilty.
Guilty because I couldn't meetthe expectation.
(02:55):
Guilty because I worried thedonors would notice the gap
between the personalized idealand what actually went out.
Guilty because the weight oftrying to make gratitude perfect
left me too drained to make itconsistent, and maybe you've
lived some version of thatyourself.
Maybe not with handwrittennotes from a CEO, but with a
(03:17):
board member or leadership whowanted every donor touched in a
highly personal way.
Or maybe with your own internalpressure touched in a highly
personal way.
Or maybe with your own internalpressure wanting every thank
you to shine, but facing a pileso tall you settled for good
enough just to get them out thedoor.
Here's the truth I want to nameout loud.
If thank yous feel rushed, it'snot because you don't care.
(03:38):
It's because the system aroundyou wasn't designed for the
reality you're in.
Gratitude is powerful, butwithout a rhythm it becomes
another source of guilt, andthis is where we go back to the
principle I named last week.
Relief doesn't come fromgrinding harder.
It comes from rhythm.
Thank yous are the perfectexample of this, because the
(04:00):
truth is no one can sustainablywrite hundreds of individualized
notes from scratch every week,and no donor actually needs you
to.
What donors need is to feelthat their gift mattered, that
they were seen, that theirrelationship with your
organization is valued, and thatcan happen through a simple
rhythm, a process that ensuresevery donor gets a thank you
(04:22):
quickly, warmly and consistently, without you collapsing under
the pressure to do it all alone.
When I look back at that seasonwith my CEO, I can see it
clearly now.
If I'd had a rhythm, a way topull in donor names, gift
amounts, maybe one or twodetails we did know, the load
(04:42):
would have been lighter.
It would have given me draftsto shape instead of blank pages
to fill.
It would have freed me to focuson the touches that really
mattered instead of scramblingto invent details that I didn't
have.
And that's the principle I wantyou to carry with you.
Gratitude should never be aboutheroics.
It should be about steadyrhythms that let you show up
(05:04):
warm and authentic week afterweek without burning out.
Because when we don't have thatrhythm, two things happen.
First, donors wait too long foracknowledgement or they get a
generic note that feelstransactional.
Second, we as fundraisers carryunnecessary guilt that eats
away at our energy and ourconfidence.
(05:26):
But when we do have that rhythm, everything changes.
Donors hear from us quickly,our words sound like us, not
like a form letter, and we canend the day knowing we showed
gratitude that was real and notrushed.
That's the foundation we'rebuilding towards today Thank
(05:46):
yous that are steady, specificand sustainable, not
overwhelming and not impossible.
And that's what sets us upperfectly to talk about where AI
fits in.
Because, when used with care,ai can help you create that
rhythm, not by replacing yourgratitude, but by holding the
load so you can offer gratitudethat's present, warm and truly
(06:10):
yours.
So let's come back to that storyfor a moment the impossible
expectation of 500 handwritten,personalized thank you notes.
Because when I look back now Ican see something I couldn't see
then.
What made that situationunbearable wasn't just the
number of notes, it was the lackof rhythm.
There was no structure to holdthe work, no system to make sure
(06:34):
gratitude flowed steadily.
It was all raw effort, and raweffort will eventually break any
of us.
That's where AI can make such adifference.
And I want to pause here,because maybe when you hear the
word AI, you tense up a littlebit, and I get that.
I've had fundraisers.
Tell me, keith, I don't want tolose my voice, I'm not sure
(06:57):
it's safe with donor data and Idon't have time to learn another
tool.
And if you've ever felt one ofthose, you are so not alone.
Those are valid concerns andhere's what I want you to hear.
Ai is not here to replace you.
It's here to hold part of theload, so that you can show up
with more steadiness andpresence.
(07:18):
Think of it like this AI is notthe writer you are, but AI can
hand you the first draft, thestarting outline, the raw words,
so that you're never facing ablank page alone.
That's what rhythm looks like.
It's not magic, it's not flashy, it's simply having a trusted
(07:38):
place to begin.
Now let's go back to the thankyou notes.
Without rhythm, they pile up,they get delayed or they get
rushed and you end up sendingsomething that feels
transactional instead of warm,and all the while, the guilt
grows heavier.
You know donors deserve better,but the hours simply aren't
there.
With rhythm, the story changes.
(08:01):
The story changes.
Imagine you've got a savedprocess.
Maybe it starts with a donor'sname, the gift amount and one or
two details that you alreadyknow about them.
You drop those into a rhythmthat you trust and AI generates
a thank you draft.
It's warm, clear,donor-centered.
(08:26):
It's not finished, but it's astrong foundation that you can
shape in a minute or two Insteadof staring at a blank screen
for every donor.
You spend your time making smallpersonal touches.
You get 500 drafts in seconds.
You polish a handful.
You send them all out the sameweek that the gifts arrive.
That's what a steady rhythmlooks like, and notice what
changes here.
It's not just about efficiencyyeah, you saved hours but, more
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importantly, you gave yourselfback your confidence.
Instead of ending the week witha stack of unfinished thank
yous and a pit in your stomach,you end the week knowing that
every donor was seen, every giftwas acknowledged and your words
still sound like you.
That's the dual win I alwayscome back to.
The practical win, of course,is the time back the drafts,
(09:12):
faster consistency withoutburnout.
And the emotional wins therelief, the steadiness, the
confidence.
Both matter, because this workisn't just about getting things
done.
It's about how you feel at theend of the day?
Do you still have energy leftfor the phone call you've been
meaning to make?
Do you still have patience foryour family when you walk
(09:34):
through the door?
Do you still feel proud of thewords that went out under your
name?
That's the real measure ofsuccess, and this is where AI
shines.
When it's introduced with care,it becomes part of your rhythm
not your whole rhythm, not thehero, just part of the structure
that steadies you.
So let me give you a glimpse ofhow this looks in practice.
(09:56):
I want to share something I didrecently.
While preparing for this veryepisode.
I decided to go back to thatold way of writing thank you
letters, where each one ispersonalized for the recipient,
except this time.
I wanted to see what wouldhappen if I paired that approach
with AI.
So I put together a spreadsheetof 500 donations Nothing fancy,
(10:18):
just first names, gift amountsand a few leveled impacts.
I mapped out based on the giftranges.
Then I uploaded thespreadsheets into ChatGPT using
privacy-safe settings andplaceholders, and in less than a
minute I had 500 personalizedthank you notes drafted.
Every single one was unique tothe recipient.
(10:39):
Now granted, these lettersdidn't have the CEO's level of
detail about running intosomeone at the grocery store or
chatting with their dad on thetennis court.
But here's what struck me whendonations used to come flooding
in.
It could take us six to eightweeks to get thank yous out the
door Six to eight weeks.
By then, the warmth of the giftwas long gone.
(11:02):
With this approach, I couldhave had 500 unique and
personalized notes ready thevery same day.
Imagine what that would havemeant, not just for me, not just
for my sanity, but for thedonors, who felt seen and
thanked right away.
That would have been alifesaver.
Here's the key AI doesn'treplace your gratitude.
(11:24):
It supports it.
It makes it sustainable.
Because here's the truth Ourdonors don't need us to write
every word from scratch.
What they need is to feel thattheir gift mattered, and you
don't need to sacrifice yourevenings or weekends to make
that happen.
When you lean on AI as part ofyour rhythm, you create space
(11:44):
Space to be present with donors,space to bring your voice
forward, space to leave work ata reasonable hour and still know
your thank yous went out ontime.
And this is exactly why I builtthe Fundraiser's AI Starter
Suite Not as a tech-heavyprogram, but as a steady rhythm
you can lean on A rhythm thatlets you handle thank yous and
(12:06):
board reports and prospectresearch with the same
steadiness that we've beentalking about, because gratitude
shouldn't feel rushed, and itdoesn't have to.
With the right rhythm,gratitude can feel warm and
sustainable and true to youevery single time.
We've talked about how thankyous often feel rushed because
(12:26):
the load is simply too heavy,and we've talked about how AI,
used with care, can create arhythm that steadies you.
But now I want to pause on themindset piece, because this is
where so many of us get tangledup.
The limiting belief I hear mostoften when it comes to thank you
notes is this If I don't writeevery word myself, it doesn't
(12:47):
count as real gratitude, and Iknow that voice.
I used to believe it too.
Somewhere along the line, wepicked up the idea that true
thankfulness has to be 100%handcrafted, line by line, and
start to finish.
And if it's not, then it's notauthentic of our donors either.
Because what happens when youcarry that belief into your work
(13:09):
?
The thank yous pile up.
You put them off because youdon't have the bandwidth, you
send them weeks late, or yourush them out just to get them
done, and then you feel guiltybecause they don't sound like
you wanted them to.
And the irony the donor doesn'tget a better experience.
(13:29):
They either get delayedgratitude or they get a note
that reads like it was writtenunder pressure.
Neither one strengthens therelationship, neither one feels
good.
So let's reframe it Instead ofif I don't write every word
myself, it doesn't count asgratitude.
The new framing is this If Isteward gratitude with steady
(13:52):
support, my donors feel it morefully and I can show up with
more presence.
Do you hear that difference?
The first frame keeps youtrapped in guilt and exhaustion.
The second one frees you tooffer gratitude consistently,
warmly and sustainably.
Let me put it this way Writingevery word by yourself is not
(14:14):
what makes gratitude real.
What makes gratitude real isyour presence, your intention,
the fact that you cared enoughto send it and that you cared
enough to make it timely andspecific.
And this is where I think AI,used wisely, helps us embody the
true heart of gratitude,because it takes away the
bottleneck, the blank page, theendless hours, and leaves you
(14:37):
with space to do what only youcan do.
You're still the one choosingthe words that matter.
You're still the one whodecides if the note sounds like
you.
You're still the one who addsthat little touch the line about
the donor's long history withyour organization, or the
mention of a program they'vealways cared about.
Ai doesn't take that away fromyou.
It hands you a steady rhythm sothat you can bring that
(15:01):
presence forward more often.
And that's what donors want.
They don't want perfection,they don't want a literary
masterpiece.
They want to know they matter,they want to hear it while their
gift is still fresh in theirminds.
They want to feel your voiceand not your exhaustion.
So let me ask you which servesyour donors better A delayed
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thank you, written entirely byhand but sent six weeks late, or
a timely thank you drafted withsupport, shaped with your
presence and sent the very sameday the gift arrives.
That's the mindset shift.
Gratitude isn't less authenticwhen you use support.
It's more authentic because itarrives on time, it carries your
(15:47):
voice and it reflects the careyou want to give without the
burnout.
And here's the second belief Iwant to name.
If I lean on support, I'mcheating and I felt that one too
Like using a template or aprompt somehow makes me less of
a professional.
But let's be honest.
We've always used supportStationary templates, mail
(16:10):
merges, pre-printed thank youcards, shared language for
campaigns.
Ai is simply the next versionof that, a tool that gives us a
rhythm we can trust.
Using support isn't cheating,it's stewardship, it's wisdom,
it's choosing sustainability soyou can keep showing up for the
long haul, because the realdanger isn't that AI will make
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you less authentic.
The real danger is that,without support, you'll keep
caring more than you can sustain, and that leads to burnout,
brittle relationships and donorswho quietly slip away.
So let's reframe that one too.
Instead of if I lean on support, I'm cheating, our new frame is
going to be if I lean onsupport, I'm cheating.
Our new frame is going to be ifI lean on support, I'm choosing
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presence over perfection.
That's the heart of this work.
Donors don't need perfection,they need presence.
And maybe the last mindsetshift for today is this I have
to figure it out all alone, andwe're going to change that to.
I can walk with guidance that'sbuilt for me.
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So many fundraisers feelisolated in their gratitude
practices.
They think everyone else has itfigured out and they're the
only ones drowning in late thankyous or transactional notes.
But let me tell you every roomI walk into, every workshop I
lead, the same questions come uproom I walk into every workshop
I lead.
The same questions come up howdo I save time, how do I keep my
(17:38):
voice, how do I protect donortrust?
And you don't have to carrythose questions alone.
You deserve support.
You deserve rhythms that holdyou.
And that's what changeseverything.
Because once you release thebelief that gratitude only
counts if you do it all by hand,you open the door to rhythms
that make your gratitude moreconsistent, more timely and more
(18:00):
present than ever before.
So let this sink in.
Your donors don't need you tosuffer over every word.
They need you to be presentwith them.
And you can do that when youlet support steady you.
That's the mindset shift thatchanges rushed thank yous into
real ones.
Here's what I want you to carrywith you.
(18:23):
Gratitude should never feel likepunishment.
It should never feel like onemore task you can't quite get to
, or like a rushed note thatleaves you guilty instead of
proud, or like a rushed notethat leaves you guilty instead
of proud.
Gratitude is meant to breathe.
It's meant to feel steady, it'smeant to remind both you and
your donors why this workmatters.
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And the truth is, you don'thave to carry the weight of
everything you alone.
You don't have to spend sixweeks scrambling through piles
of notes.
You don't have to write untilyour hand aches just to prove
your gratitude is real.
What makes gratitude real isn'tthe grind, it's your presence,
it's your voice, it's your care,showing up on time in ways
(19:07):
donors can actually feel.
That's what rhythms are for.
They steady you when the volumegets high.
They give you a foundation tostand on, so you think you stop
feeling like a burden and startfeeling like the part of
fundraising that fills you backup.
And if you're ready to buildthat kind of rhythm, the kind
that gives you back your breathand lets you leave work knowing
(19:29):
your donors were seen, I wouldlove to walk with you inside the
Fundraiser's AI Starter Suite.
The course is designed forexactly this moment for
fundraisers who want to sendgratitude quickly without losing
their voice.
For fundraisers who are tiredof the guilt and ready for a
steady way forward.
One short lesson is all ittakes to feel the lift by the
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end of the week.
You can find the link in theshow notes or at
letstalkfundraisingcom forwardslash starter suite.
And if this episode offered youany measure of relief today.
I would be so grateful if you'dtake a moment to leave a
five-star rating and athoughtful review.
It's a simple way to help thispodcast reach other fundraisers
(20:13):
who are carrying the same weightthat you are.
And if you haven't subscribedyet, that's another quick step
that makes a real difference foryou and for the fundraisers
this show could serve.
So this week, let gratitudebreathe.
Don't chase perfection, don'tcarry it alone.
Just take one small step thatsteadies you.
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That's enough.
Next Monday, we'll shift ourfocus to the season that makes
almost every fundraiser feelfrazzled Year end.
We'll talk about how to preparenow so that, instead of
scrambling through December, youwalk into it steady, focused
and ready to show up for yourdonors.
Until then, remember thisYou're not behind.
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Gratitude doesn't have to berushed, and one steady rhythm is
enough to give you back yourbreath.
I'll see you soon, my friend.