‘Tis the season to be thankful
23 Nov
Thanksgiving is tomorrow! Are you ready?
I usually do the hosting (so I can drink allotta wine) and cooking (ordering) for the big day and my kids like to help me prepare by hiding and “catching up on homework”. Hubby barricades himself in the home office when he is not at yoga for the Flow before the Feast, the Pre-game Flow before the Feast, or at Staples getting more ‘supplies’.
Thanksgiving is the kickoff for the Most Wonderful Time of the Year! Yes? Yes!
Since it is the season to be grateful, I thought this would be a good opportunity to post about thanking our peeps that sponsor, donate or walk in our events..
Question: How quick should you thank your walkers after an event or receiving a donation?
ASAP I say! You should already know who your sponsors and team leaders are well before walk day. So, you should be able to create abuncha merge thank-you letters for that group wayyy before the event. Stuff’m and seal’m so that they can be run thru the postage machine the day after the walk. Boom!
Now, I would never share the pre-thanks secret with my kids, because I want them to write a VERY detailed thank-you note to all their donors (read: gift-givers) within a week of receiving it.
You will also have enough time before the event to create or purchase a sentimental piece to commemorate the event sponsorship. This can be presented to your sponsors at a thank-you-please-come-back-next-year meeting shortly after the event. KaPow! I like to put a nice frame around the event poster containing their logo and include a cut-out with a message.
Thanking the walkers is tricky, because you need to get the 100 or 1,000 or 10,000 or 50,000 names into your database so you can generate a thank-you. This will take more time, but you should thank your walkers no later than one month after the event. Really. One month. You can do it!
Since many walkathons are in the fall, this thank-you letter should arrive around the holidays. Please do not use this thank-you as an opportunity to also stuff a year-end giving ask in the same envelope. Not classy. Keep the thank-you genuine and the year-end giving letter separate.
THANK YOU for reading and I hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving!
