As we are in the month of Thanksgiving, it is a great time to focus on grantitude and how we can incorporate it into our nonprofits. I think we probably can all agree that we need to have grantitude, but we don’t always know how to implement it.

So, how does your nonprofit score on grantitude (Catch up here if you missed Amy Bonn’s post about Defining Grantitude)?

• 10 points if you send a thank you note when awarded a grant. (Bonus of 5 points if it is hand-written)

• 5 points if you have a little celebration with your grant team. (Bonus of 2 points if it involves coffee and baked goods.)

• 5 points if you thank the funder on social media (as long as the funder is ok with it). (Bonus of 5 points if it involves a video of your participants/clients.)

• 5 points if you return the grant agreement on time.
• 2 points if you provide a letter of receipt for the grant funds.
• 5 points if you submit your reports on time.
• 10 points if you follow the funder’s guidelines/requests.
• 2 points if you attend a funder event.
• 5 points if you spend the grant money in the way you outlined it in the application or have a conversation with the funder before changing how you spend it.
• 2 points if you announce the grant award in your newsletter.
• 2 points if you create a press release for each grant awarded to your organization.
• 5 points if you announce your grant awards at your board meetings.
• 2 points if you recognize funders at events and/or through printed materials.
• 2 points if you put the funder’s logo on your website.
• 2 points if you coordinate and host site visits for grantors
• 2 points if host an event for funders or ensure the funder is invited to all relevant events

How is your nonprofit doing? Are you showing grantitude?

There really is no perfect score for showing grantitude. This just gives you a list of ideas of how your nonprofit can show grantitude. You do not need to do every single one for each funder. Regardless of how your nonprofit scored, be sure to follow the funder’s guidelines/request when it comes to the acknowledgment of the grant. Some funders do not want the public recognition. Also, continually consider and add in ways your nonprofit can authentically express grantitude to your funders.