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Cheryl Smith Lintner Executive Director, Donor Relations Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation |
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November is National Gratitude Month in the U.S. but every month is gratitude month for donor relations professionals, right? It’s what we do best. Let me tell you a story (‘cause that’s what I do). A few years ago I was asked to lead a gratitude exercise at a staff retreat. I really wanted to show not only what it feels like to receive gratitude but to also give it. I handed out blank thank-you cards and instructed everyone to take ten minutes to write a thank-you note expressing gratitude to a colleague in the room. We talked about how it felt to receive a thank-you note (good, right?), but also how it felt to write them. Many of us were surprised that writing them felt good, too! All smiles.
The next day, I delivered the notes, including one I wrote to a colleague named Jim. I didn’t know Jim well, but I did notice that he always made it a point to publicly acknowledge when someone helped him or did something amazing. So my note thanked Jim for that — for taking the time to recognize greatness and compassion in others. Jim showed up in my office the next day and thanked me for the thank-you note. He shared that it’s really important to him to give kudos to others, and he was so touched that I noticed he did that. And again, we both felt good. We were both all smiles. And that sentiment continued over the next few days in the office — colleagues thanking each other for thanking each other. It was really great to witness how a very small thing could have such a profound impact for both the receiver and the giver.
If you’re looking for more information about why expressing gratitude is good for both you and the recipient, check out A Simple Act of Gratitude by John Kralik.
Sincerely,
Cheryl
