Since Thanksgiving is in November here in the USA, I always spend most of this month thinking about gratitude, gratefulness, and thankfulness.

I wanted to post some really off-the-wall creative way to say thanks. Something that would wow you and get you to retweet this.

But then I attended a donor appreciation event last Monday that a hospital client was throwing for its donors. The format was incredibly simple:

• Donors were invited to a local science museum, a fun place to hold an event.
• They were offered simply heavy hors d’oeuvres and wine and beer.
• The room was decorated a bit by the caterer and the hospital put a few drawings of our building expansion. (And a couple hardhats! Brilliant!)
• And there was almost as much mingling as there were formal comments.

Simple. But the energy in the room was amazing. Donors loved seeing each other. They loved the food and wine. They were a buzz about the expansion.

And they knew they were appreciated as people, not just as ATMs.

So instead of some gimmicking or uber-creative thank you, I’d encourage you to try the thank-you’s that seem mundane to you and your staff. They rarely grow old to donors.