Last month, we dove into self-interested donations and the harm it does to the donor. Perhaps you are asking, "Now, what? How should I thank donors???" First, we need to re-frame the question to: How should I thank the gift from the donor? This shift turns the question from praising the donor to praising the action; from the person to the performance. Performance-based praise has been shown to be a more effective reinforcer. This research started in the educational psychology field with children and has quickly expanded into the business world. The difference, in summary, is that person-praise has a "fixed mindset" of innate talent and personality (I am a giver) while performance-praise has a "growth mindset" for maturing as a person (I can become more generous). Wait! Hold the fort! What about being "donor-centered?" Agreed. When I was preparing for my Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) exam, I borrowed Penelope Burk's book, Donor-Centered Fundraising, from a colleague. In actually reading this book and the research, I had a moment of "what I thought I knew, but was wrong about." From the beginning of my fundraising career, I had heard of this concept, attended trainings and applied with I thought I learned; that…
