Back to School ... Back to Acquisition

At a minimum, your strategy should include a very timely receipt (mailed within 72 hours of the gift being received is the minimum goal) and, for online gifts, an immediate — and friendly — acknowledgment. (For some reason, acknowledgments often sound like they were written by a robot. Let’s ooze a little love and gratitude here.) You also need to have a welcome mailing of some sort; this is a good place for the educational material, but include an ask, too. Finally, the first few appeals new donors receive should focus on your most appealing projects.