A Day for Thankfulness.

Thankfulness changes your perspective. As I cleaned the table after dinner a few weeks ago, I had a startling realization. If you have food to throw away, you’re not really poor. As I scraped my son’s leftover peas into the garbage, the enormous magnitude of the blessing of having more food than we need overwhelmed me.

Thankful for…

Food is maybe the most basic thing that I’m thankful for. Shelter. A job that does more than just pay the bills, but gives purpose. My wife and children. And extended family. My community and circle of friends. I’m not bragging. I don’t deserve any of it. I’m beyond grateful for these many blessings.

Thankful to…

Thankfulness doesn’t exist in a vacuum. The blessings have a source. The gifts that I’ve received come from someone. My wife, children , friends, God. I thank them all for the many ways that they enrich my life and make it worth living.

Give back.

Thankfulness needs to be expressed to the person from whom you’ve received the gift. It’s great to cherish gratitude to a person in your heart, but when you’re truly thankful, it wants to be expressed.

Saying thank you is a way of giving back to the person who has blessed you. It doesn’t cost you anything, except time. And it really is a gift.

As a fundraiser, I’m called to say thank you a lot. Most of our donors really only want a thank you and the assurance that we’re doing something good with their gift. That’s easy enough. But I have to take the time to do it.

So say thank you to someone tomorrow. It might not mean much to you. It will likely only take a moment. But they will love to hear it. And you’ll be better for it.

Looking for more articles on thankfulness? Try these:

• How should I use thank you notes in my direct mail fundraising?
• How do I run a Thank-a-Thon?
• Be a Grateful Leper.

Check out The Fundraiser’s Playbook for a full list of fundraising articles.