The Practice of Feeling Grateful

It’s that ole “opening the envelopes after the mailman knocks…” time of year, and I’m seeing some trends.

We’ve had a lot of donors stick with us, but drop down. (More $18 gifts than we’ve ever received before.)

A few new gifts of a large denomination – at least one of which we’d been courting for over a year. A nice surprise!

And some old old friends sticking with us…through a year when they’ve clearly made some hard choices…very very moving.

We’ve been sending double and triple thank yous – dashing off an email as soon as the check comes in, then asking the solicitor/contact to send their own note cards – and then sending a formal “thank you” letter/receipt and handwriting a cheery little thank you on top of that!

You can never appreciate someone too much, is my theory. There’s a lot of important and worthy causes out there, and I’m touched by every individual that prioritizes mine.

Can you imagine the good karma flowing around if we all thanked each other for all the effort we put in – to each other, to our organizations, to the world?

I came to work this morning kind of grumpy that the holidays were over, that the weather was so bitterly cold and windy, and that I still have to worry about cash flow.

It feels like we’re in the middle – of the recession, of its effect on nonprofits, of the strain of making ends meet (or not…). Like the light is there, it’s clearly going to end, but that this hoped-for end is just as clearly not very near.

After the mail came, though, and I went into multi-modal thank you mode, I felt like I was living in a different universe. One filled with people who care about each other, who “spot” each other on the balance beam…and who are committed to living as part of the world’s social safety net. A nicer, more bountiful place to live.

The practice – the grace – of being grateful. Try it out.