You don’t want to let this moment slip away. A kind-hearted person just made a donation to your nonprofit. What now?
Write a thank you email that makes your donor feel appreciated, connected, and compelled to stay involved and give again.
Here are nine, super-simple tips for writing meaningful thank you emails to donors:
Your donor should receive your email as soon as possible—definitely don’t wait longer than two days. The donation should be fresh on your donor’s mind, and a prompt email will send a strong message to your donor that her contribution matters.
The email should be about your donor, not you. Let your donor know that your work isn’t possible without her contribution.
Get specific! Introduce your donor to someone from your community of service or send along a photograph of your staff in action.
Find out if your donor has given to your nonprofit before. If so, make sure to thank her for her continued support. If not, acknowledge her first donation.
How did your donor find your nonprofit? What inspired her to give? Focus on your donor’s motivation in your thank you email.
Remember, the hero of your thank you email should be your donor, not you or your nonprofit!
Invite your donor to sign up for your newsletter, share her support for your nonprofit on social media, or volunteer.
Help your donor feel connected to you, on a human-to-human level. Avoid language that feels impersonal and include your contact information.
Find a fun way to convey what makes your nonprofit organization unique. Make a short video of your staff giving thanks from the field or upload thank you letters or drawings from children in your community of service.
Your donor just gave! Use this opportunity to start building a relationship, not ask for more money.
To wrap up, I’ll keep it simple: Thank you for reading!
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