In 1998, I worked at the FedEx hub at the Indianapolis airport. It was my first summer out of high school, and I was all in—working the day shift loading truck trailers, sleeping in my car, and hoping to get called in for the night shift loading aircraft.
At FedEx, they didn’t just train us how to load packages. They taught us to think a certain way. They called it The Purple Promise:
“I will make every FedEx experience outstanding.”
That mindset stuck with me. And it shapes the way I approach fundraising to this day.
Because whether you’re delivering packages or cultivating donors, mindset matters more than manuals.
You can’t train for every situation. But you can build the right culture—and when you do that, people will show up with the right instincts.
The Golden Package
FedEx had a fascinating tactic to keep this mindset front and center. They’d sometimes place intentionally damaged packages—called “Golden Packages”—into the flow.
If you spotted one and reported it to a supervisor, you’d receive a cash reward. It might be $25. It might be $25,000.
The point wasn’t the money. It was the story. The reminder that every package matters. That you never know which one is the Golden Package. So you treat them all like they are.
I love that. And here’s what I’ve come to believe:
Every donor is the Golden Package.
It doesn’t matter if they give $25 or $250,000. If we treat every donor like they’re invaluable—like we can’t afford to lose their trust—we’ll create the kind of culture that inspires joy, loyalty, and generosity.
Great Donor Experiences Start with a Culture of Service
A lot of fundraisers are chasing big moments. The “wow” email. The perfect proposal. The gala that brings down the house.
But those things mean very little if you’re not doing the basics well.
In Episode 187 of the podcast, I talked about my Airbnb and how fun it is to surprise and delight our guests—handwritten notes, backyard games, whimsical gnomes. But none of that matters if there aren’t clean beds. You have to meet expectations before you can exceed them.
The same is true in fundraising. Before you can wow your donors, you have to build trust through consistency:
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Gift acknowledgments that are timely and heartfelt
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Systems that ensure no one falls through the cracks
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Communication that’s predictable, clear, and human
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Culture that trains your team to think, “every donor matters”
You Can’t Rely on Random Acts of Great Stewardship
One of the best customer service stories I’ve ever lived happened in 2007.
My wife and I had tickets to the Super Bowl in Miami (Colts vs. Bears, baby!), but our tickets—sent via FedEx—got misrouted. When I tracked the package, I realized it was still in Santa Barbara… and we were already in Florida.
So what did FedEx do?
They hired a courier. Put them on a commercial flight. Santa Barbara to San Francisco. Then San Francisco to Miami. Then into a taxi straight to our hotel.
That’s legendary. But FedEx doesn’t survive on legends alone. It survives because it delivers millions of packages a day—on time, with care, with consistency.
Your donor experience needs to be the same. Not just amazing moments, but consistent little wows.
Happy Donors Give Bigger Gifts
I used to say happy donors are a prerequisite to asking for a gift. But that’s not totally true.
You can ask a donor who’s frustrated. You can ask a donor who feels forgotten. You might even get the gift.
But if you want a big gift—a stand-on-their-tiptoes, legacy-level gift—you need them to be happy. You need them to feel seen, appreciated, and valued.
Happy donors = confident asks = joyful generosity
So What Can You Do?
Here’s where to start:
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Build the system. Don’t leave gratitude to chance. Set up automations, processes, and checkpoints. Get help if you need it.
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Empower your team. Don’t make them ask permission to serve a donor well. Give them the authority and trust to do what’s right.
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Celebrate the little wins. Those aren’t filler—they’re the foundation.
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Make every donor feel like the Golden Package.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
We’ve got some incredible tools to help you build this kind of culture in your organization:
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ClarkBot – Your 24/7 fundraising coach, trained on our exact philosophy and methods.
Learn more and get started at www.MajorGiftsFundraiser.com
P.S. If this post resonates with you, forward it to a teammate. Thanks for the opportunity to speak into your work. You’re changing the world. I’m honored to help.