Every year, millions of Americans gather on the last Thursday of the month for a somewhat bizarre tradition. After hours (nay days) of prep, family and friends gather around the table and gobble up turkey, cranberries, dressing, gravy, beans, potatoes, rolls, brussel sprouts, and yams until we can hardly move. And then—in an effort to truly outdo ourselves—we come back for pie-a-palooza, whereby we eat pie, pie and more pie.
I truly love this holiday.
Why? Because it’s a combo of tried and true and a twist of new. We all have our fav dishes. (My mum tried NOT serving the green beans one year—bad call. The word ‘mutiny’ comes to mind…) But there’s also room to experiment and try something new. Cumin on yams? BBQing the turkey? Maple syrup and cheddar cheese atop the pumpkin pie? (This last one is much better than it sounds.)
Your donors, fans and supporters want the equivalent of Thanksgiving. There are ways in which you engage with them that they love. Maybe it’s your annual event or your Facebook posts. They don’t want you to mess with those. But they also want some variety. They want some nutmeg whip cream on their pumpkin pie. They want you to dazzle and delight them.
Lest you think dazzle and delight will take too much time, energy or money, here are three easy ideas:
- Create personalized Xtranormal movies. If you can type, you can make a movie. It’s fast, free and fun.
- Send an e-card with a cool service like Kudoboard. Again, fast, free and fun. (Seeing a theme?)
- Jot a quick note and send via snail mail. Compendium has great cards for the mission-minded of the world. Does it take longer than sending an email? Maybe. But the extra minute to put the stamp on is totally worth it!