Saying ‘thank you’ isn’t just polite — it could raise millions more

How much are simple thank-you calls to donors worth to public television stations nationwide over the course of a year? Potentially, about $4.6 million. That’s one of the bright possibilities emerging from the Contributor Development Partnership, an ambitious effort to identify and disseminate the most effective local fundraising practices. The service, funded by CPB and WGBH (Current, Feb. 7), has been busy all year crunching detailed financial data from 76 participating stations.