Just before Christmas 2006, everyone who works here was given £100 to give to charity and asked to track 'What Happened Next?'. It's pretty depressing to clock up the numbers of how many of us haven't received so much as a proper thank you.

I gave the full £100 to one organisation; a small environmental charity I have always admired. I gave through their website and got the usual automated acknowledgement to show that my payment went through. But I never expected that to be the end of it. No proper thank you, no introduction to their other work, no interest in my motivation to give, no phone call. Nothing.

It seems that those of us who made our donations online are most likely to have been ignored and forgotten. Are charities so well-funded they can be this blasé? Do they care so little about creating loyal supporters that they can let common courtesy fall by the wayside?

When my kids receive gifts of money from their grandparents, they write thank-you letters. Even if they've said thank you over the phone already. Is that ridiculously old-fashioned? They say how they think they're going to spend the money (or what they've bought already). Grandma and Grandad have no doubt that their gifts are noticed and valued.

Saying 'thank you' is one of the best opportunities you have to inspire your donors, to make them feel fantastic about their decision to give. Do it right and, next time you turn to them, they'll remember how good it felt to support you.

I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that charities shouldn't ask for money if they're not going to say thank you for it. It's true that my kids write their thank-yous because their parents tell them to – so who is the 'parent' in your organisation, making sure you mind your manners? Who knows that no gift is too small to be acknowledged, and the value of a simple gesture of gratitude, sincerely meant?

If you're looking for the next big thing in fundraising, this could be it.

Steve Andrews