A Fundraising Fundamental

Just awhile ago I gave a small donation to an organization I had heard about from a friend - I was keen on what they were about and thought I would give a few bucks to support their cause. It is now 3 months later and I have yet to hear anything at all from them - I looked - they cashed my cheque... so my money is helping them in their mission to accomplish good work in the world. Which is FABULOUS - that is what I gave them money for.
But... ummm... did your mom not teach you to send thank you cards? Or ... hey - more important to their administration - a tax reciept.
So just a fundraising note - send thanks for all your donations - especially from first time givers. It is a bit of a burden, after all someone needs to type it, maybe mail merge it on the computer or hand write it, and the org needs to pay for postage ... but its worth it. I might give money to that organization again because I like what they do - but I will wait for a bit - and if they send me an ask for money BEFORE I get a thank you note ..ohhhh, hard call.
So - if you run a non profit that isn't sending thank yous - who knows who you are offending? I mean - hey I have no money, but what if I did?
And yes, to stop the arugment right now - I believe it is important to acknowledge donors - even if it does cost a bit of time.