Thank you letters are one of your best fundraising strategies.

Read that again.

When you send a donor thank you letter, you’re not only investing the relationship, but you’re also investing in your future fundraising success.

One of the primary reasons donors stop giving is because they were never thanked! So please don’t agonize over what to say or how to say it in your donor thank you messages.

All too often, donors are not acknowledged for their generosity. And if they do receive a formal gift acknowledgment, the message is generic and lacks personalization.

When a donor gives to your organization, they expect for you to use their funds efficiently. And they expect that the money they gave will make an impact.

With this in mind, your thank you message should always contain a statement of impact. And you should always attribute the impact to the donor (not you or the organization).

Top 6 Tips for Writing Perfect Donor Thank You Messages Fast

  1. Ensure you spell the donor's first and last name correctly
  2. Use the word “you” early and often (it’s about the donor, not you and the organization!)
  3. Communicate the impact of the donor’s gift in 1-3 short sentences. Describe WHO will benefit from their gift and WHAT will happen because of their generosity. This will function as the core of your message.
  4. Acknowledge gift designation (if there was one); ensure the impact statement (#3 above) aligns with the designation
  5. Thank them through as many channels as you can, using the same core message
  6. Personalize and HUMANIZE the acknowledgment as much as possible; you can do this by including artwork or letters from your beneficiaries or using stencils to draw designs and artwork on the card itself
A Network for Good study found that 41% of donors would give again if they received personalized communication that shared the impact of their gift.

Here's an easy way to integrate donor appreciation messages into your day

Allocate 15 to 30 minutes every day to handwrite thank you letters.

Create a soft script your team can use to write thank you letters as gifts come in. I say "soft script," as it will need to be amended on a per-donor (and gift designation) basis.

Prioritize thanking. Put appreciation and donor love at the center of everything you do. When you do this, you’ll discover both new and established donors are more engaged and excited than ever before!