(Originally published last year)
It’s the end of the year. You’ve done everything to make the most of these last few weeks.
Now you have lots of thank you letters to write. But you’re feeling stuck. Where do you start?
Here’s my quick how-to.
First, a confession: I used to write rote, boring, perfunctory thank you letters.
And I didn’t much like writing them.
Plus, with an appeal, you feel like you have a goal. Thanks are an after-thought, right?
Wrong. So. Wrong.
Then I read posts by my friends Pamela Grow and Lisa Sargent. My eyes were opened.
Saying thank you well matters. Unless you don’t care if donors stick around.
So here is my advice for your great thank you letter.
Personalize the salutation
Nothing says, “We love you for your money” like a “Dear Friend” thank you letter. Don’t do it.
First paragraph: One great line
Just like your appeal letter, the first line of your thank you does some heavy lifting. Make it sing.
“On behalf of…” is coma-inducing. Don’t do that either.
Instead, imagine your favorite person in the world.
Imagine they’ve just given you the greatest gift – the thing you’d never dare ask for. Hang on to that feeling of love and gratitude. That’s what needs to fill this line.
Make it short. And make it all about the donor, not your organization.
Stuck? Try “You’re amazing!” or “You’re my hero!”
Flatter away. Gush.
Trust me, no one hates being told they’re wonderful.
Second paragraph: Look at what you’ve done!
Tell your donor exactly what their generosity accomplishes.
Hint: this is never “meeting our annual fund goals”. Connect their generosity to the beneficiary.
Because of your generous gift, a family will have a real Thanksgiving dinner this year.
Make the connection without inserting your organization.
Nothing in this letter is about how great you are.
Third paragraph: Stay connected
Use this to suggest ways they can learn more, call for a tour, reach you or another real person via phone or email. (And do I have to say that they’d better be able to reach that person?)
Fourth paragraph: Say it again
Restate your gratitude. Tell them again why they’re important.
Have a human sign the letter
Make it someone as high up in the organization as possible. Or sometimes, the person the donor has a connection to.
Sign it for real. Add a note – even if the note is only “thank you very much!”.
Don’t make the IRS the star of the letter
Stick that boring but necessary language at the bottom of the letter. No one wants to read it – they just want it there.
More good stuff on saying thank you:
Thank you letters for you to swipe
How hopeFound says ‘Thank You’ (And how they can help you say thank you too)
Photo thanks to Ryan McGuire at Gratisography.
Mary,
I think you’d agree that thank you letters are the MOST important correspondence an organization can send to its supporters. A well written appeal is important but without a timely thank you, donors will not come back.
HI Richard! Yes, absolutely. A great appeal without a proper thank you just leads to churn and burn fundraising. Who wants that?
Thanks!
We do exactly what you suggest above, with some additions. The TY letter should relate back to what prompted the gift, if known. So if you run an appeal for a centre for street kids, then the TY letter needs to show impact for street kids…as opposed to a livelihoods programme. We also try and get our field comms team to get additional images showing a smile or a direct impact image which we put on a TY greeting card that someone can put on their mantle or pop under a fridge magnet. It’s an ongoing reminder to the donor of the good they have done. Finally we’ve started putting reply envelopes into TY letters to encourage feedback or comments…and if they contain additional gifts…job done! Connecting with your donors, and making sure they understand just how much they’ve done it critical!
Excellent! Yes!