Business Matters

Say “Thank You”

By Carol Gordon, CPA

It’s only recently that I realized how far-reaching that advice is. Whether you are a for-profit or not-for- profit business, there are strategic groups that you should remember to thank on a regular basis.

For-profit equine businesses, such as instructors, barn owners, farriers, etc., are generally very mindful of thanking their customers. It’s very obvious that your customers provide the fuel that enables your business to function. But you have several strategic groups that are critical to the success of your business and are sometimes forgotten when appreciation is being handed out—your vendors and your employees.

Vendors provide you with mission critical goods and services. Your best lesson horse is ready the day after pulling a shoe because your farrier made your business his priority. A family member is hospitalized, so you forget to order first-cut hay

Growing up, some of us had that drummed into our heads by our parents and teachers.

from your supplier. But she remembers and calls you. Because in these relationships, we are the customer; we feel that we should be the ones receiving the thanks—and that is true. But it’s a reciprocal relationship and our best vendors deserve our thanks.

Employees keep your business running and represent you to your customers. You may be giving lessons all day, but your barn help is assisting the customer in tacking and untacking. Your boarders are interacting with the people cleaning the stalls. In these relationships, we are paying the employees, so we feel that we don’t also need to thank them. But they can go to other barns where they may feel more appreciated. So it only makes good business sense for us to be thankful for their part in the success of our business.

For not-for-profit businesses (therapeutic riding, rescue, etc.,) thanking the

customer seems to be pretty well ingrained in our business processes. But donors and volunteers are two groups that can sometimes be overlooked.

Donors are a pretty diverse group. The size and the frequency of the donation vary considerably so there isn’t a one size fits all approach to expressing gratitude. But the statistics show that many not-for-profits don’t succeed in thanking their donors successfully. Seven out of ten first time donors never donate again. Over 50% of not-for-profits stop sending thank you acknowledgements after their first year in existence. And the average not-for-profit is only retaining 40% of recurring supporters. I couldn’t find any surveys that demonstrated the improved retention rate of sending a thank you, but I can’t imagine that there wouldn’t be some improvement. It would certainly be worth investigating, given the cost of acquiring first time donors vs retaining donors.

Volunteers are much like employees. They keep your organization functioning and are the face of the organization to your customers. But they don’t even get paid. Over the course of a year, volunteer attrition is one out of every three people. One of the top ways to improve volunteer retention is to say thank you.

Saying thank you doesn’t have to be expensive or time consuming. Be creative. Post photos of these organizational superstars on your website. Host an Appreciation Day at your barn and invite everyone associated with your business. Ask how people want to be thanked.

Establishing and maintaining good business relationships with these key players ultimately translates into success for your organization.

About the author: Carol Gordon is a CPA with an MBA from Boston College and the owner of Carol Gordon, CPA, which provides consulting services to equinebased businesses. You can contact her at cgordoncpa@gmail.com. If you have any questions that you’d like covered here, please email her with your suggestions.

Charities have the responsibility and (sometimes) the IRS requirement that they provide donors with a receipt for their donation. The requirements vary based on the amount of the donation and whether the donation was made in cash or as an item(s). IRS Publication 1771 (Charitable Contributions- Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements) provides the details but generally:

A donor must have either a bank record or some written communication for any donation before claiming the donation on their tax return. If the donation is $250 or more, the donor is responsible for obtaining a written communication from the charity. (If someone has donated $250 or more to your organization, why would you make THEM be responsible for obtaining the receipt?!?)

If the donation is as an item(s) (tack, show awards, etc.), the charity is required to provide a written receipt if the donor states that the value of the donation is greater than $75. But the receipt should never include a value of the items. That is the donor’s responsibility. The charity should only provide a description of what was donated— e.g., 3 Passier Apollo Snaffle Bridles.

Donation acknowledgements should include: the donor’s name, the date of the donation, the amount of a monetary donation and/or a description of any items donated. Also include a statement, if that is the case, that “no goods or services were provided by the charity in exchange for the donation. And never, ever include a statement that the donation is tax deductible. Whether or not that is the case depends on each donor’s individual tax situation.