give the gift of being seen
1. Start an Appreciation Campaign
Enter their name, email, and start date, and we create a daily feed of gratitude and recognition for a loved one from their friends and family. It’s a very special gift for celebrating a birthday, graduation, promotion, or other life transition. It takes a minute to create and is free!
Love the idea? You can also set a reminder for a future campaign!
2. Everyone writes Appreciation Notes
Share the Campaign. Share the custom link with your Recipient’s friends and loved ones, asking them to write heartfelt Appreciation Notes: Why are they grateful for the Recipient? What do they appreciate about the Recipient? What is special about the Recipient? The campaign is official once we get 7 Notes.
3. Your Recipient gets appreciations for days on end.
We do the rest. We notify your Recipient a day before about their Campaign starts and send one note per day. Each note is a delightful surprise making the recipient feel loved and appreciated for days on end.
This is such a unique thing, it is truly one of the best gifts I have ever received. - Jennifer
“This is the most meaningful gift I’ve ever received” - William
These small daily reminders of being loved were humbling and delightful. It's been such a moving wash of kind notes that make me feel seen. I'm feeling buoyed and more confident. - Aileen
Getting one Note per day for 12 days from my team was an incredibly precious experience. I cried every day when I opened them. I feel seen and acknowledged in a special way. - Megan
Frequently Asked Questions
+ What is an Appreciation Campaign?
An Appreciation Campaign is a series of at least 7 Appreciation Notes written to one Recipient, which we send via email to the Recipient one day at a time. It's a tool that creates joy, meaning, and connection for the Recipient; they get to see how loved they are by the people around them. It's a way to show someone how grateful everyone is for who they are.
+ When do I use it?
Most campaign starters do it for a loved one's birthday, or graduation or other celebration. It's a sort of digital ritual, a way for your Recipient to be seen and acknowledged during life's transitions. We also get a fair number of campaign starters doing it to support someone going through a difficult time: a major illness, or a breakup, or a death in the family.
+ How do I start an Appreciation Campaign?
Fill out the form on our website, which will take you about a minute. We’ll email you a personalized link to write a Appreciation Note for your Recipient. Share with your Recipient's friends and family. Seven Notes launches a Campaign.
+ Why start an Appreciation Campaign?
Because you want to surround your Recipient with love for a period of time. The world feels like a better place when we are appreciated. Our bodies actually change chemically when we feel valued, praised, and blessed. You can do that for your Recipient for days on end. Check out what our Recipients are saying.
Because you want your Recipient to see how everyone who cares about them sees them. Often times we don't see our unique gifts, or how we positively affect others. An Appreciation Campaign shows them how they are, not what they do, and how their way of being is so special to everyone around them.
Because the world feels like a better place when we appreciate others. 95 percent of people felt at least somewhat happy when expressing gratitude, and over half felt extremely happy. Asking people to write Appreciation Notes makes them healthier, more energetic and optimistic, more empathic, and less vulnerable to clinical depression.
+ How do I get other people to participate in the Appreciation Campaign I’ve started?
When we send you the personalized link for your Recipient, we’ll also send you a sample email you can edit and forward to your Recipient's friends and family.
Share via email, text message, on FB or Messenger… as long as you share that personalized link, anyone with appreciation to share with your Recipient can participate. They can spread the word too by sharing the link with others.
+ How much does it cost?
It's free! We created the Appreciation Effect to bring more joy and connection into the world. It does cost us money to run the site, though. If you would like to participate in the generosity economy, you can contribute by making a donation to us at the end. More than anything, we just want people to start new campaigns and keep the gratitude chain going.
+ I just got asked to write a Note for someone. How do I write a meaningful Appreciation Note?
Great question! Take a moment to think about the person you’re writing to. Why are you grateful for them? What's great about them? The more specific you can be, the more meaningful your Note will be. Some prompts that might be helpful are:
Can you recall a time when the Recipient did something that made a big impact on you? You could tell them about that and thank them for it.
Is there something special about the Recipient that you can see makes the world a better place? You could describe what that is and why it’s special and important.
Is there a funny story that comes to mind that makes you smile or laugh to think of it? You could tell that story to the Recipient in your Note, and thank them for brightening that memory.
You don’t have to be eloquent, just write from the heart. Be genuine and that’s going to shine through.
+ Can I see some examples of great Notes of Appreciation?
Yes! Click Here.
+ Who can read the Notes? Are they private?
Only the Recipient gets the Notes. The campaign starter can see when Notes are delivered but can't read them, and neither can the Note writers. For purposes of system maintenance and quality control, we at The Appreciation Effect can see the Notes, but we generally don't read them. See our Privacy Policy for more info.
+ More generally, I'm still concerned with privacy. What do you do with my personal information?
Totally understood. We won't sell or exchange your personal information. We want the experience to feel as good for everyone as possible, so you'll never been served ads. Any of the information we collect from you is only used to operate an Appreciation Campaign, including communicating with you and others in the ways you have agreed to. You can read our full Privacy Policy here. We genuinely are only doing this to help people participate in gratitude.
+ Can people still contribute notes to the campaign after it has started? Or is the start date the deadline for all notes? Can I write multiple Notes?
People can still contribute Notes after the start date. They can also contribute multiple Notes if they like.
+ How long can an Appreciation Campaign go for?
Theoretically, the Appreciation Campaign can go on forever! The average campaign lasts around 20+ days. The longest one we've had is 93 days.
+ I’m a Recipient of an Appreciation Campaign. It’s so sweet, but also rather awkward to get these Notes. What’s up with that?
Yes, sometimes it feels uncomfortable when so many people tell you wonderful things about yourself. But that's sort of the practice: accepting that other people love you and genuinely think you're amazing! We at The Appreciation Effect really believe that gratitude is the secret sauce of happiness: for ourselves, for our community, for our world. That’s why we like to talk about accepting appreciations as the practice of “Grateful Receiving.” Receiving other people's appreciation lets others express gratitude, which is a gift to them. And your Grateful Receiving is really a gift to you too. For more in-depth information on receiving Appreciations, you can go here.
+ I'm a Recipient of an Appreciation Campaign. Do my Note writers know when I receive their Note? I feel internal pressure to send an individual thank you every time I get a Note.
We’ve got your back on this one! Note writers don't know when you receive their Note. When your campaign is about to end, we'll let you know. Then we’ll send you a link to write one thank you note that everyone will get. That way you can just relax and gratefully receive the Appreciation Effect without feeling pressure to respond to everyone individually as the experience is happening
What Recipients say:
“I was overwhelmed by how thoughtful these were — and how nice it felt to be seen.”
“Everyone should have the opportunity to know what makes them special and valued by their most cherished friends and loved ones.”
“I’m so grateful for my friends and family who took the time to write these things about me. It’s something I go back to every time I need it.”
If you had three words to describe your appreciation experience, what would they be?
“Loved, seen, acknowledged”
“Connected, grateful, celebrated”
“Loved, hugged, replenished”
“Seen, beheld, valued”
What Campaign Starters say:
“It’s so easy it is to start a campaign. And I love seeing my Recipients during the day, thinking, ‘They were appreciated and loved today.’ I keep on thinking of people I want to start campaigns for.”
“I love how simple and quick the process is. I love how clear and easy the signup is. And then you do the rest of the work for us? Brilliant.”
“Using the Appreciation Effect helped our family express positive feedback when we were in a bad habit of asking each other to change an unwanted behavior. It was easy to set up, not complicated to use, and simple enough for even the grandparents to participate in. Thank you!”