A Master-ful Thank You
As a fundraiser, you know the power of two small words “thank you.”
Thank you is an acknowledgement of connection, a humble appreciation of a partnership.
These words are always powerful, but sometimes, they are actually prophetic!
That’s the case of this 2009 thank-you note, written by golf great Jordan Speith.
Young Jordan was able to attend Jesuit because of the Joseph M. Murphy Memorial Scholarship Fund.
He thanks the family for their help to “strengthen my academics as well as my golf game.”
He was only 16 when he wrote this note to the family who provided a scholarship at Jesuit College Prep in Texas. He not only thanked them, but also mentions that he’s the Number 1 junior golfer in the nation and shares his dream of winning the Masters.
Jordan Speith realized his dream 6 short years later, when he won the 2015 Masters at only 21-years old!
Jordan was able to accomplish his dreams because of the vision of a generous couple who supported Jesuit.
Terry Murphy ’61 created the scholarship to honor his late father, who had also attended Jesuit.
This is an extraordinary example of the power of a thank you note … and also the power of a scholarship.
As marketing experts, we love this story, but also see it as needing another chapter! Which fundraiser is following up with Jordan to talk about the opportunity of following in the footsteps of Terry Murphy and creating a scholarship of his own!
You can see the original post of Jordan Speith’s thank you note to the Murphy family here.
Passive Prospecting: How to Transform Annual Givers into Legacy Donors
If I asked you the number one responsibility of your job as a fundraiser, what would you say? Building relationships? Engaging prospects? Finding money? Discovering legacy donors? Could you describe the system you use to accomplish this? The answer would vary based on...
Effective Donor Communication Is Personalized
We're a planned giving marketing company, so a common topic we discuss is effective donor communication. After thirty years of studying what works in marketing, the answer is still the same: effective donor communication is personalized. As a fundraiser, you'll have...
5 Things to Keep in Mind about Planned Giving During a Capital Campaign
So you're ramping up for a capital campaign! You want to avoid donor fatigue so you pause your planned giving during a capital campaign. This way, you can keep donors laser focused. BUT WAIT! But that's not the best way to do things. The two should not affect or...
3 Ways to Connect to Planned Giving Donors
Have you ever heard the saying, “There’s three sides to every story: his side, her side, and the truth”? Personally, I’ve always found that humorous. But I’ve realized something—it describes some of the conversations we have with planned giving donors. Think about it:...