How to Craft a Thank You Letter to Donors

A thank you letter can serve as a message of gratitude to your donors expressing how you value their kind donation to your nonprofit. Without a doubt, a sincere thank you is always appropriate, regardless of the size of the gesture.

• You can use a template to craft a thank you letter to donors.
• Organizations can integrate their CRM with their donation page to send thank-you letters.

Writing a Thank You Letter to Donors

In this section, we’ll highlight how to create the ideal thank-you letter. Also, we will consider how your nonprofit’s CRM software can serve as an efficient tool. This is most especially in a situation where you have to send several letters. 

a. Craft your letter of gratitude

Anyone who donates to your organization deserves a letter of appreciation. Writing a letter of gratitude shows how grateful you are for your donor’s contribution. This in turn can encourage further assistance from them in the future.

b. Personalize the Thank You Letter for Each Donation

The name of the individual or business donor, the amount of the donation, and any other relevant details should be included in each thank you letter. The good news is that none of this needs to be done manually. Your organization can use a thank you letter template. This tool automatically extracts data from the donation record thereby saving you time.

Donor segmentation is categorizing each type of donor when sending donation acknowledgment or thank-you letters so that the appropriate letter may be sent to each group of donors. Hence, a thank you letter for a significant gift should be written differently than one for a $25 one-time donation. 

When You Should Write a Thank You Letter

As soon as the donation reflects on your end, you should send a thank you or donation appreciation note to the donors. Also, you can set up your CRM system to automatically send a thank you letter following a gift or online contribution. However, for people who send in checks or give in other ways, you’ll have to manually fill out the thank you letter. A CRM tool can help you generate that list. 

Things to Note When Acknowledging Your Donor

In addition to thanking your donors, recognize the precise amount of money provided and the date the donation was received. This is because a donor may use a thank you letter as a tax receipt while filing one’s federal taxes at the end of the year. 

Secondly, be sure to provide a brief description of how the donation will benefit the community in the body of the thank you letter. Individuals like reading about the programs that will be supported by their donations. For the donor to put a face to your cause and be more inspired to donate in the future, you can also provide a personal account of an individual your nonprofit has assisted.

How to Format Thank You Letters to Donors

Your thank you letter should begin with a heading that highlights the donor’s name. In this case, customized letters have a lot more impact and significance than generic ones that may potentially get into anyone’s inbox.

Ensure you express your sincere gratitude to the contributor for their generosity in the body of the letter.  You should also mention the donation’s quantity. As previously noted, you can go on to discuss how the donation or gift will be put to use. Emphasize how it will support the organization’s objective while highlighting a few noteworthy projects. You can also use images and videos to support the narrative you’re delivering.

Automate Your Thank You Letters

Make the most of your nonprofit CRM by automating the procedure for sending donors thank-you notes. Send a note of appreciation as soon as an online donation is made. You can integrate your CRM with the donation page on your organization’s website.

Once the donation is entered into your system, you may use your donor database to extract contact details, salutation headers, and the donation amount. Also, you can run a report in your CRM to generate the data required to write each letter. Lastly, you can choose to personalize each letter and complete the process manually.

Conclusion

Thank you letters can serve as a tool for donor retention. Likewise, it can be used to inform donors of your nonprofit causes and how their donations will be put to use. Early delivery of such letters is important. Also, there are templates you can use to hasten your writing process.