At a good donor appreciation event, the donor leaves knowing exactly what their gift did, and nobody has asked them for another one. The ideas below run from a coffee chat that costs almost nothing to a campaign kick-off for your leadership donors, and the table gives a budget level for each.
We also think the gift does more when it arrives before the guests do, sent with the invitation so it can be worn on the night. If you are planning gifts for an event like that, our donor recognition gifts page shows what we make for each giving level.
A donor appreciation event thanks donors and asks for nothing
A donor appreciation event is a gathering held to thank donors and show the impact of their gifts. Nobody makes an appeal, and there are no pledge cards on the tables. If donors want to know how to give again, put that in something they take home.
The event still helps with the next gift, a year from now. Donors who have stood in the lab their gift equipped, or heard from the student it supports, come to the next ask already knowing what their money does. The Association of Fundraising Professionals makes the wider case for why donor appreciation events matter.
These 12 ideas suit different donors and budgets
Use the table to shortlist, then read the ideas that fit.
| Event | Suits | Budget | Donors take home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Campaign kick-off | Leadership and campaign donors | High | A wearable campaign gift |
| 2. Facility tour | Donors at every level | Low | A card with 1 impact figure |
| 3. Impact luncheon | Mid-level donors | Medium | A place card with a personal note |
| 4. Private dinner with leadership | Major donors | High | A keepsake at each place |
| 5. Unveiling | Naming donors and their families | Medium | A photograph from the unveiling |
| 6. Anniversary event | Many donors at once | Medium to high | A gift marking the year |
| 7. Tribute evening | A single honoree and their circle | Medium | A gift carrying the honoree's words |
| 8. Cookout or picnic | Families, volunteers and donors | Low | A lapel pin |
| 9. Coffee chat | Smaller and newer donors | Low | Time with staff |
| 10. Thank-a-thon | Every donor | Low | A call or a handwritten note |
| 11. Virtual tour | Donors who live far away | Low | A gift by mail |
| 12. Campaign close | Everyone who gave to the campaign | High | A keepsake of the campaign |
1. A campaign kick-off makes donors part of the launch
A kick-off invites your leadership donors in at the start, before the public knows the goal. It is the best occasion for sending a gift with the invitation, since guests can then arrive wearing the campaign's colors. For the launch of its For Every Child campaign, Lurie Children's Hospital commissioned a pashmina and a silk tie in the campaign's design. The gifts were sent with an RSVP invitation to the kick-off event, with a request that donors wear them there. Our gifts for hospitals and health foundations show more campaign pieces.
2. A facility tour shows the gift at work
Walk donors through the lab or the ward their gifts support, with the people who work there leading the tour. Neon One suggests running tours after hours if you need to protect the privacy of the people you serve. Hand each guest a card with 1 figure on it, such as the number of patients the unit saw last year.
3. An impact luncheon puts beneficiaries at the table
Keep the program to 20 minutes with 1 beneficiary speaker, perhaps a student or a researcher. Seat beneficiaries among the donors, and put a handwritten note from your president or head of school on each place card.
4. A private dinner with leadership suits major donors
Keep the table small and the president's or dean's remarks to 5 minutes, and put a keepsake at each place. This is the occasion for a gift made for your institution. The University of Notre Dame chose enamel cufflinks and a matching brooch for its donors and alumni, which gives a couple a matching pair. Enamel cufflinks start from $45 in the cufflinks and pins collection.
"We cannot thank you enough for the extraordinary heirloom-quality gifts that reflect our deep appreciation for our Benefactors. With your help, we have created unforgettable memories that they will carry with them and share within the Notre Dame community. Collaborating with you has been a true delight!" Jessica Reasons, The University of Notre Dame
5. An unveiling celebrates a named space or donor wall
Invite the naming donor's family and friends and keep the speeches short. Have a photographer there, so that within the week you can send each donor a photograph of themselves beside their name. Our guide to donor wall ideas covers the recognition donors take home from an unveiling.
6. An anniversary event honors many donors at once
A founding anniversary or a centennial lets you thank a whole generation of supporters in 1 evening. Emory Goizueta Business School marked its centennial with brass coasters for 100 honorees. See Emory Goizueta's centennial coasters.
7. A tribute evening honors 1 person
When a dean or a long-serving chair steps away, the people who gave alongside them often want to say thank you as well. A gift for the honoree can carry their own words. Purdue's secret silk scarf and tie for the retirement of Dean Leah H. Jamieson were printed with her final remarks and her own signature.
"Thank you Harris Made for providing remarkable quality silk scarves and ties that were gifted with pride; recognition gifts that are still being talked about with excitement and enthusiasm!" Hadley Thomas, Director of Alumni Relations, College of Engineering, Purdue Research Foundation
8. A cookout or picnic welcomes the whole community
This is a low-cost afternoon where donors of every size mix with families and volunteers. Keep it outdoors and informal, and hand out a lapel pin in your colors, from $15, so everyone leaves wearing the same thing.
9. A coffee chat gives smaller donors time with staff
Invite 6 to 10 people for an hour, with no slides, and have a program director answer questions and tell 1 story from the week. Smaller and newer donors rarely get this kind of time with staff.
10. A thank-a-thon reaches every donor in 1 day
Staff and board members spend a day calling or writing to every donor on the list, with no ask. Give callers a short script and a list of what gifts paid for this year. For the written notes, our thank you letters for donations have templates to start from.
11. A virtual tour includes donors who live far away
Film the lab or the ward and take questions live. Mail remote guests the same gift the room receives, so they feel part of the event.
12. A campaign close celebrates the total together
Announce the final total to the people who reached it, and give them something that marks the campaign. The Smithsonian's silk scarf and tie were built on the Smithsonian sunburst for the Smithsonian Campaign. Cornell University followed its $6.36 billion campaign with a made-to-order Alumni Collection, alongside a Saxony scarf and a medallion badge.
"Our Harris Made Alumni Collection is gorgeous! We have nothing but praise. I highly recommend working with Harris Made." James Best, General Merchandise Manager, The Cornell Store, Cornell University
The gift can arrive before the event
Most event guides treat the gift as a favor handed out at the door. If you send it with the invitation, the invitation arrives as a present in its own right, and guests come to the event already wearing your colors, which shows in the photographs from the night.
How to send a gift with the invitation
Choose something guests can wear
Silk scarves, ties, pashminas and lapel pins all show on the night, so leave the desk pieces for another occasion. Pair a scarf and a tie, or a pashmina and a tie, in the same design so every guest has something to wear. See the scarves collection.
Send the invitation in the same package
Every Harris Made gift arrives in a presentation box branded for your institution, often with a notecard that carries your message on the front and the provenance of the gift on the reverse. Mail your invitation in the same package, so the box is the first thing guests see of your event.
Ask guests to wear it on the night
A single line on the invitation does it: "We hope you will wear your scarf or tie on the evening." Then make sure your president and the hosts wear theirs.
Every guest takes something home
Plan 2 tiers: a small favor for every guest, and a keepsake for the leadership donors in the room. Both should be made for your institution and kept exclusive to it, so a guest could not have bought them anywhere else.
Tier 1: a favor for every guest
A lapel pin from $15 works well, or a set of embossed leather coasters from $35. Either one carries your crest and gets used long after the night. See the leather goods collection.
Tier 2: a keepsake for leadership donors
For leadership donors we would choose a bespoke silk scarf from $65, a silk tie from $48, a silk pashmina gift set from $90 or a medallion badge from $52. Our badges are handmade in gold and silver gilt metal wire thread, with a magnetic, felt-covered back, so they go on and off easily and double as a paperweight. Our donor stewardship gifts page covers giving societies and major donors.
The planning starts when the date is set
Most of our projects take 8 to 16 weeks from the first hand-drawn sketch to delivery, with samples for approval in between. That means the gift is ordered before the invitation is designed, and a gift that travels with the invitation has to be ready earlier still. Ask us about timing for your date, and see how a project runs.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Set the date | Agree the guest list and the budget, and commission the keepsake |
| Design | Approve the hand-drawn sketch, then the sample |
| Making | Most projects take 8 to 16 weeks in all |
| Invitations | Send them, with the gift if it travels with the invitation |
| The event | Present the gifts, take photographs, make no ask |
| Within a week | Follow up with photographs, a note and a short impact report |
We ask for a minimum of 125 pieces per design. If your guest list is smaller, choose a design you can keep giving: to next year's guests, or to new members of a giving society.
The thank you continues after the event
Within a week, send each guest a photograph of themselves wearing or holding their gift, along with a handwritten note and a short report on what the year's gifts paid for. Leave the ask out of this too. Our donor stewardship guide sets out the rest of the year, and our guide to donor impact reports covers the report.
Harris Made makes keepsakes for campaign events
We are Emma and Mark Harris, and we have made gifts for more than 300 institutions. Emma draws each one from scratch around your crest and colors. She hand-selects the materials and inspects every piece herself. Everything is made in Britain by mills and a foundry that hold Royal Warrants, and the design stays exclusive to your institution. If you are planning a kick-off or a campaign close, start a project and tell us your date. Our donor recognition gifts page shows what we make for each giving level, and fundraising gala ideas covers a larger evening.
Frequently asked questions
What is a donor appreciation event?
A gathering held to thank donors and show the impact of their gifts, with no request for money.
Should you ask for money at a donor appreciation event?
No. Keep the event about thanks and impact, and put giving information in a take-home piece if you include it at all.
What are some creative ways to express gratitude to donors?
Hold an event with no ask, send a gift with the invitation, run a thank-a-thon, send donors a photograph from the unveiling, or write a note by hand.
What are some unique donor appreciation gifts?
Gifts designed for your institution and never sold anywhere else, such as a silk scarf drawn from a campus building, enamel cufflinks or a bullion medallion badge. Our donor recognition gift ideas post has more.
What are some examples of stewardship activities?
Impact reports, facility tours, thank you calls, recognition events and keepsakes at milestones.
How far ahead should we plan a donor appreciation event?
Far enough ahead to commission any keepsake: most bespoke gifts take 8 to 16 weeks to design and make.