Top 10 Tips to Send Letters Saying 'Thank You Donors'
You might often assume your donors already know you are grateful for their contributions. But, in reality, they need to hear it from you now and then, allowing you to form long-term, genuine relationships. Sending a donation thank-you letter can be your first step toward creating a vast network of loyal donors and boosting brand awareness!
Nonprofits must send effective and appreciative messages to donors to encourage them to keep contributing to their causes. It is one of the best donor retention strategies, enabling them to depict how much they value their audience.
This blog covers the top ten ways to write and send letters saying “thank you donors” that can make an impact. Let us begin!
Why Should a Nonprofit Organization Write a Thank-You Donation Letter?
Drafting a well-thought and resonating donor thank-you letter is beneficial for nonprofits in many ways, including
- Foster loyalty and credibility: Receiving a thank-you note from a nonprofit organization makes donors feel that their donations are in the right place. These messages foster a sense of authenticity and loyalty among people, helping you raise enough funds for your campaigns always.
- Improve donor retention rates: Writing an effective thank-you letter for a donation allows you to stay in touch with your donors after they contribute and improve retention.
- Gather volunteers: Like donors, your organization also needs volunteers to help you accomplish specific tasks, like managing a fundraising event, acquiring auction items, etc. A charity thank-you message allows you to maintain healthy relationships with donors, who can either volunteer for your nonprofit or help you find volunteers.
How to Write a Thank-You Letter to a Donor?
Nonprofits must consider many things while writing their donor appreciation letters to make them responsive and appealing. Below are some tips to get them started:
#1 Make Your Letter Personal and Authentic
When you want to say a donation thank-you to a donor, try writing it yourself. Getting someone else to draft the letter or copying the message you have been using for years can not generate your desired results. It should be authentic and personal, allowing your audience to resonate.
#2 Add the Donor’s Name
Personalize your thank-you letters for donations by adding the donor’s name. It lets you talk to the donors 1:1 and establish a personal connection. Addressing someone by their name also helps you grab their attention and make them read your message more attentively!
You can use many other details to personalize your donor thank-you letter, like
- The number of years the donor has donated to your organization.
- The causes they have contributed to over the years or months.
- How the person’s gifts directly impact the people you help.
Using demographics to appeal to your audience is also an excellent idea. For instance, if your nonprofit supports women’s rights, you can address your ‘thank you for your donation’ message to females.
Segregating your audience according to geo-demographics and curating a tailored thank-you donation letter can benefit you. It is because your donors are not interested in reading generic messages. They want to know something authentic about your organization and its work.
#3 Focus on Your Timings
The most crucial factor in the success of your campaign is its timing. Try sending your thank-you message for donation to donors at the right time—which is right after they contribute. Avoid waiting too long because it can reduce your letter’s influence on the readers.
Your donors might not remember donating something to your organization or not be excited to receive a thank-you note after several days. It is advisable to use automated solutions like PostGrid that help you send triggered letters or set campaign timings in advance.
You can also use other occasions to appreciate your donors with a ‘thank you for your contribution’ note. Some examples are
- On the donor’s birthday or anniversary.
- With holiday greetings.
- On their give-adversary—the day they donated to your nonprofit for the first time.
- After they attend a fundraiser (even if they did not contribute to this specific event)
The point is—to express your gratitude and make people feel special whenever possible with a ‘thank you donors’ letter. It helps you keep up with the donor’s expectations and tell them how much you value their contributions.
#4 Differentiate Your Content
You need not restrict your message to ‘thank you for your contribution and support’ and send the same note to everyone. Try saying something more and connecting with your audience. The best way to differentiate your charity thank-you message and make them memorable is by using donor-centric language. Make donors the hero of your story by reinstating how their support is valuable to your organization.
Celebrate your donor’s contributions in your donation thank-you letters by using words like “your gifts,” “your support,” “you made it possible,” etc.
Reference the causes they donated for—mention the specific campaign, community, person, etc., to help them recall. It also allows you to inform donors how you use their gifts and how they support your fundraising projects!
#5 Use a Friendly Tone
Most fundraising letters depict urgency or sympathy and have a CTA. A donation thank-you letter works differently—it has a more positive, friendly, less formal tone. The aim is to make donors feel good about their donations and instill a can-do attitude, convincing them to donate further!
#6 Include Effective CTAs
You can add a CTA irrespective of the purpose of your ‘thank you donors’ letter. The only difference between a marketing and non-marketing CTA is what you ask the donors to do. Typically, you guide them to your website to donate online and request them to contact you. But thank-you notes must have CTAs, like
- Visit our website to learn more about our work.
- Scan the QR code below to see how your gifts impacted the lives of hundreds of underprivileged people.
- Check out our social media pages, where we share our work daily.
These donation thank-you CTAs let you expand your outreach, boost your online presence, and create a network of long-term donors.
#7 Add Your Real Signature
Editing your digital signature into a thank-you letter for a donation is simple and quick. But it reduces its authenticity and makes recipients think you did not write the message yourself.
Try including the legitimate signatures of people who write the donor thank-you letters on behalf of your organization. Remember, people like to connect with others, not with a company. Thus, assigning a representative as a point of contact can help you increase engagement levels significantly.
#8 Offer Donors Multiple Options to Contact You
Provide donors with several methods to connect with your organization. Add details, like your phone number, email address, office address, website link, social media handles, etc., to your thank-you donation letter or postcard.
Your message should not serve as a closing statement but become a stepping stone to gaining a loyal donor that continues to donate!
#9 Include a PS Line at the End
You can reinstate your message toward the end with a PS statement. It helps you thank your audience again or inform them of something. For example, imagine you want to host a fundraiser in the upcoming month. You can include all the details for the event via the PS line of your ‘thank you for the donation’ letter.
Since nonprofits must avoid discussing future fundraising campaigns in a ‘thank you donors’ letter, this line helps them create a loophole. Also, people like reading the PS line as an informal closing message! So, adding it to your letters can help you engage more people.
#10 Automate Everything
You can try conducting a campaign to send thank-you letters for donations in-house. But, there are many elements and tasks to take care of, increasing the overall workload. Thus, consider automating your processes via direct mail services like PostGrid. It enables nonprofits to send a donor thank-you letter at the right time to the correct people!
Thank-You Donor Letter Template and Sample
Below is a template to help you understand how to structure your thank-you message for donation with a sample letter:
[Your nonprofit organization’s name]
[Office address]
[Contact information]
[Date- the day you pen down the ‘thank you donors’ letter]
[Recipient’s full name]
[Recipient’s mailing address]
[Subject- optional]
[Salutation]
[Introduction- Remind donors about your organization and discuss their donation to your causes. Keep it short and appreciate them for their kindness.]
[Body- Talk about your nonprofit’s mission and how you use the donations.]
[Closing- End the donation thank-you letter on a positive note and wish the reader well.]
[Signature]
#1 ‘Thank you for your donation’ letter sample
Letterhead
Date: 1 December 2024
To,
Faith McQuinn
5 Main ST
Pasadena CA 91001
Subject: Thank you, donors.
Dear Ms. Faith,
We write this letter with immense pleasure to have you as a donor for the past two years.
You have showered our nonprofit with your support throughout this period and continue doing so! We thank you for your donation, dated 29 November, of $200 toward our recent fundraiser.
Our nonprofit organization helps thousands of women and children yearly to break free from a toxic chain and live a good life. Your contributions and support matter to us, primarily to them!
You can visit our website anytime by scanning the QR code on the envelope and letterhead to view images and details of our recent fundraising events.
Thank you, and we look forward to speaking with you soon!
Yours sincerely,
Glen Forbes – Vice President.
[Signature]
PS We are set to host a marathon on 15 December 2024. Register yourselves today if you want to participate!
Other Methods to Say ‘Thank You Donors’ and Appreciate Your Audience
Apart from sending thank-you letters for donations, nonprofits can employ many other methods to celebrate their donors. Here are some of these ways:
Take it to Social Media to Praise Your Contributors
Many charitable organizations share stories of recurring or recent donors on their social media pages. It is an excellent way to say ‘thank you for your contribution’ on public channels where you can make a donor feel more special!
You may also share their pictures and names (with their consent) to increase engagement on such posts. They can act as reviews or testimonials for your target donors and help you acquire more donations.
Diversify your platforms to say ‘thank you for your contribution and support’ to donors. The most commonly-used platforms are Instagram and Facebook. But you may also share their stories on LinkedIn and Twitter!
Send Tailored Emails
Emails help you send ‘thank you donors’ messages to every donor right after they contribute. It is quick, affordable, and convenient, making it a must-have tool in your marketing and correspondence kit.
You can tailor your ‘thank-you for the donation’ emails the same way as offline letters. But remember that a person can ignore an email as effortlessly as you send it. Direct mail letters have a better influence on people because it is more personal and shows you took the time and effort to send them.
Create ‘Thank You for Your Donation’ Videos
People retain 95% of the information they see in a video compared to 10% of the text. Hence, it makes sense to create videos to ask your audience for donations and thank them when they contribute!
You can make videos of how the viewer’s donations helped a specific community or person. And you can portray your gratitude and say ‘thank you for your contribution’ better using visual content.
Record videos of your fundraiser events, volunteers, etc., and post them on social media. You may also include links to these videos in your offline donation thank-you letter to combine offline and online marketing. The goal is to reach out to donors using appealing visuals that demonstrate your work and make them feel good about how you use their gifts!
Pick Up Your Phone
Nothing beats talking to your donors personally on a phone call. They would appreciate you calling them and thanking them for their donation. It is one of the most effective ways to say ‘thank you donors’ because people remember it!
Calling someone also adds a human touch to the interaction and makes it double-sided. You can instantly record the responses and ensure they get your donation thank-you message.
Organize Get-Togethers or Field Visits
You may include images of your work while sending a thank-you donation letter to your donors. But how about you invite them for a field visit to see your work in real life? Or you can arrange a get-together, enabling them to meet with your team and discuss the causes you support!
How Does PostGrid Assist Nonprofit Organizations Send Their Thank-You Letter for Donation?
PostGrid’s direct mail API helps nonprofit and charitable organizations draft their letters in no time using our pre-built templates. They can use several fonts, background pictures, variables, etc., to customize the charity thank-you message according to their preferences.
PostGrid allows nonprofits to print their letters via a reputed printing vendor and ship them using Canada Post’s mailing services. They can automate the entire process and sit back as they drive responses!
Moreover, they can avail of many features, like
- Address verification: Verify your mailing lists before you send your thank-you message for donation to your donors via offline mail. It helps you to avoid return mail and save on postage.
- Campaign insights: View your campaign results and analytics using the dashboard to prepare for your upcoming programs.
- Multiple direct mail formats: You can send many direct mail types using PostGrid, like postcards, newsletters, etc. It is not crucial to stick to the letter format to say ‘thank you donors’ to your audience!
Below is an example of how PostGrid collaborates with nonprofit companies to help them send thank-you letters for donations affordably:
A 20-year-old charitable organization recently conducted a fundraising auction in New York where over a hundred donors bought different antiques and helped them raise funds. The company wanted to say ‘thank you for your contribution and support’ to each of them using handwritten letters!
They prepared, printed, and distributed 2,000 event invitations and fundraising letters via PostGrid before the event. Also, they shipped over 500 mailers to acquire auction items from potential and existing donors.
Using PostGrid, they could get their printed items ready in only two days. Our automated direct mail services also let them track their thank-you letters for donations, giving them complete control over the printing and mailing tasks.
The result: Over a thousand people RSVPd for the event, allowing the nonprofit to raise more than the adequate amount of funds they expected to collect during the event. These campaigns also brought them enough publicity to get more donations outside the event, with 55% of people donating online and the remaining sending a cheque in response to the letter.
Conclusion
Saying a simple ‘thank you for your donation’ to your donors can impact your donor acquisition and retention rates. It allows you to boost engagement and response levels, improving brand recognition!
You can use PostGrid’s direct mail solutions to automate your activities and send thank-you letters to all donors without spending tons of money and time.
Sign up here to learn more about how PostGrid enables nonprofits to draft and send letters saying ‘thank you donors’ effectively!
