I can't tell you how many times I've Googled terms like:

  • Donor thank you letter example
  • Thank you letter for a major donor
  • Creative ways to thank a donor

Every time I'd search for help, I would find generic thank-you templates that sounded transactional (the opposite of what should be done) and boring. It left me wanting to pull my hair out.

A few things to keep in mind:

  • Repetition engenders trust. There is a reason why we don't see 10 different commercials for the same product. So don't feel uncomfortable if you write the same donor thank you letters 3-4x a year, and you use similar language. They don't remember what you've written to them in the past! But they do remember how they FELT when they read your thank you card.
  • Before you write, get yourself in the right frame of mind. Imagine you're writing to a good friend. This will help you infuse warmth and genuine gratitude into your writing.
  • Make the donor the hero. Don't thank them for helping YOU accomplish your mission. Thank the donor for helping accomplish the mission. Take your organization out of it. Make it all about the donor.

I created a short video for you (below) with a few tips and tricks to help you write an effective thank you letter. I give you a soft template to work with. The tidbits I provide are tips I've picked up from people like Steven Screen, Tom Ahern, and the team at NextAfter. So you can rest easy knowing this isn't one person's opinion. Leave me any comments you have! I would love to know if this is helpful to you.