If you or the organization you run gets any type of donation, it makes sense to send a donor thank you letter. A thank you letter can help to develop a bond with your donors and let them know how grateful you are for their assistance. These letters are also a piece of evidence that you have received gifts, which can be used for tax purposes as well.
So, a thank you note is an easy means to make sure that the donor continues to help you with donations. The article serves as a guide for how to write and send a thank you note to donors. It also includes some templates of the thank you letters, which you can follow while writing your note.
What is A Donor Thank You Letter?
Every time you have questions or doubts about how to collect donations or raise funds for your nonprofit organization, the discussion automatically shifts to ways of finding new donors. At least, that is what most people think of whenever they want to raise donations.
While the process of collecting donations is more in the limelight, it is imperative to show your happiness to the donors. At the same time, it is equally crucial to make sure that your existing donors do not leave you and continue to support you in all your future endeavors. This way, you will have fewer worries about raising funds for your nonprofit.
It is also important to mention that making attempts to get new donors should be achieved at the cost of letting your existing donors leave your side. A donor thank you letter is a suitable method to retain your existing donors.
Any nonprofit organization usually devotes plenty of time to get donations in the first place. A common way to view a thank you message to a donor is as a receipt rather than as an integral part of donor communication. Contrary to this common perception, a well-written thank you letter is more about your sentiments and feelings and less about maintaining it as proof.
When Is a Donor Thank You Letter Required?
Finding a donor to help your cause is not an easy task at all. So, it helps when you are successful in retaining your existing donors or contributors. A donor thank you letter is a thoughtful and gracious act on the recipient’s part to show that they value the mission. The thank you note also showcases the recipient’s gratitude towards the donor who helped them to accomplish their goals.
A donor thank you letter shifts the focus from the nonprofit to the donors. The letter also induces a sense of achievement and appreciation for the donors. The donors will likely continue to show their interest in your nonprofit organization for many years. Typically, the gap between getting the donation and sending the thank you note to a donor should not be large.
Also, it is a noble gesture on their part as a response to an appeal or any online campaign. Any contribution or donation for a meaningful cause is an emotional decision at the end. The donor usually goes through a feel-good phase after donating. A properly written thank you letter can be a perfect way to make them feel even better or improve their morale after they made a noble gesture.
Tips for Writing a Donor Thank You Letter
The following are some easy tips to follow while writing a proper donor thank you letter after they donated to your organization.
1. Do not forget to thank your donor in the letter
You must remember to begin your thank you letter to the donor by thanking him/her. However, one thing that you should never do in this thank you letter is to ask for another donation. It is a common mistake made by many companies that they forget to mention the real purpose of writing a thank you letter. The key objective of a thank you letter to the donor is to express your gratitude to them and thank him/her for their graciousness.
You should note that your thank you letter should not be used for any kind of marketing. Use sincere words should be included to highlight your heartfelt appreciation. The idea is to make the donors know the impact of their donations. Additionally, do not try to advertise or promote any new event in the thank you letter. If there is an urgency of intimating them about an upcoming fund-raising event that you think the donor could be interested in, write it in another letter.
2. Your thank you letter should be written in a personal, informal tone
You need to make sure that the thank you note has a personal tone. The letter should highlight your candid emotions and feelings. We recommend you use a cordial tone in the content of the letter to the donor. It should be specifically addressed to the donor or contributor so that there is no confusion.
However, it is not compulsory to use the donor’s first name in the salutation. At the same time, avoid mentioning a generic salutation at the beginning of your thank you note. The reason is that if the letter’s beginning is vague, there can be a reverse impact on the bond you are trying to establish with the donor.
3. Make sure to mention in your thank you letter how the donor’s contribution or donation helped you to accomplish a good cause
When you sit down to write a thank you note to your donor, use the same strategy that you used for getting financial help from the donor. Rather than simply writing a generic thank you letter, remind them how the donation has helped you. Additionally, you can use the thank you letter as a chance to refer to your projects. It is not recommended to simply copy-paste the same content you had earlier written in the promotional letter. Rather, link the donation with your latest activities.
4. Do not delay unnecessarily to send the thank you letter to your donor
You need to ensure that the thank you letter is sent as quickly as possible. Typically, we recommend you to send the thank you letter within 1-2 days after receiving the donation. If you are prompt in sending the note, it shows that you are aware of their magnanimousness and so it has the desired effect.
It may not be a nice thing to do to contact your donor immediately after receiving a donation from them. At the same time, it is crucial to be quick while responding. Your thank you message will make them feel that their donation matters to you and your organization.
Your letter also lets, they know that their donation has gone to the right place. Additionally, you also want your donors to feel appreciated and special. Thus, the donors will feel good after their kind gesture and continue their association with you in the future.
5. You need to specially acknowledge your repeated donors in the thank you note
Does the contributor or donor have a repeated background of contributing funds for your nonprofit organization? In case the response is yes, mention the fact in your thank you letter. This can be beneficial for you in the long run. Also, there is no problem to include this detail in your thank you letter. You should also make sure that the thank you note is not generic and is customized.
6. Ensure that your donation thank you notes and donation receipts do not get mixed up
It is imperative to segregate your donation thank you letters from donation receipts. In case you mix these two up by mistake, your donor may feel that you sent the letter just because they donated the money. Thus, it is crucial to appreciate in the letter that they donated for a noble cause.
7. If you are extremely busy with some other task and are unable to handwrite the thank you note, make sure to put your signature at the end of the letter
Put your full signature at the end of your thank you letter. Additionally, anything you want to add after the signature should be handwritten. To put it simply, it is recommended to prepare a hand-written letter to your donor when possible. Often, typed letters lack that much-desired personal touch.
We have previously mentioned that a thank you letter can help you to retain your donor in the long run. If you wish to make the process of sending a thank you letter shorter, it is better to take the help of a few thank you templates. You can then customize your thank you note for each donor to give it a personal touch.
8. The thank you letter should be crisp and to the point
It is recommended to keep sure that your thank you letter is short. The reason for this is you need to only showcase your gratitude and mention the impact of their donation in the thank you note. If you make the thank you note unnecessarily lengthy, the donor may get bored and would not feel like going through it. A long thank you note can also demotivate the donor and they may even stop donating in the future.
Samples of donor thank you letter
As is now evident to you all, it is a good practice to show your gratitude to your supporters. To make your life hassle-free, we have put together some handy templates of thank-you letters for contribution. You may refer to these templates while writing your thank-you note. However, make sure to customize your thank-you note to the donor for a greater impact.
Sample Letter 1
Sender’s Full Name
Sender address
Date
Address of the Receiver
Dear _____ (Name of the Recipient),
I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude for your donation to my nonprofit organization [Name of nonprofit]. It made a drastic difference to the children in our community.
Thanks to your valuable support, kids now enjoy a secure place to come back to after their school. Instead of staying at home all alone while their parents are out for work, the kids are now playing football and basketball and learning artwork.
Wishing you the best always!
Sincerely,
(Sender Name)
Sample Letter 2
Sender’s Full Name
Sender address
Date
Address of the Receiver
Dear _____ (Name of the Recipient),
Thanks for your generous financial assistance, we have successfully made a difference. You have been continuously helpful to our organizational mission, which is greatly appreciable to us. We feel you would also have similar emotions.
It has been an honor for us to discover that you made up your mind to increase the amount of your contribution this [year/month]. Your support has already started to show positive results. You may contact [Name, mobile number] if there are any particular queries. It would be an immense pleasure to be in touch with you and thank you once again.
With deepest gratitude and warmest wishes,
(Sender Name)
Sample Letter 3
Sender’s Full Name
Sender address
Date
Address of the Receiver
Dear _____ (Name of the Recipient),
I would like to express our deep gratitude for your contribution. We, at [Name of the charitable organization] highly appreciate your generous donation and your sincere efforts. Your financial support will help us to fulfill our mission through [Name of projects].
Let me mention once again that your financial grant is too valuable for us so thank you once again! If there are any other queries about our mission, you can contact us at [Contact details] or visit our corporate website [Website name].
Sincerely,
(Sender Name)
Sample Letter 4
Sender’s Full Name
Sender address
Date
Address of the Receiver
Dear _____ (Name of the Recipient),
I am writing this thank you letter to you with great pleasure about the positive impact of your recent donation. It was just a fortnight ago that the deplorable hygiene of the slum [slum name] was brought to our notice. It was only because of your kind donation, we could take the required steps so that the residents of the slum could enjoy better living conditions.
Not only me but all the residents are deeply grateful to you for your timely support and good deed.
Thanking you once again.
Sincerely,
(Sender Name)
Sample Letter 5
Sender address
Date
Address of the Receiver
Dear _____ (Name of the Recipient),
We would like to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for your donation and kindness to [Name of your company]. We are happy to get your precious support. It is because of your valuable donation that we could able to achieve the goal of [Mention the goal].
Do not hesitate to get in touch with [Name of the person] through [Contact number].
Thanking you once again,
Sincerely,
(Sender Name)
