But as obvious as it may seem, too many organizations are ignoring the issue of donor appreciation, or, in the current terminology, donor stewardship. The target group was lapsed donors, folks who had given before but had failed to continue to contribute. The report motivated UJA to increase its efforts to show donors that they are appreciated. By 1985, UJA was enjoying the highest repeat donation rate in its history. Further support of that conclusion was recently published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy , which reported that less than one percent of all donations are made anonymously.
Donors like to be thanked.
Unfortunately, the UJA's effort is not the industry norm. Like the United Way and a few other organizations, UJA is a 'fund raising only' organization. They raise money and pass it on to other organizations that implement the services for which the money is raised. They have the time and the resources to focus on the fund raising process. Understandable, but problematic.