From a Donor Regarding Your Thank You Letters
July 12, 2012 at 10:12 am Barbara Talisman, CFRE 10 comments
Dear Nonprofit Organization,
I just received my third thank you letter from you this year. And while I like getting thank you letters and appreciate your effort on this front, there are a couple items I would like to bring to your attention.
Every letter I receive is the same – same letter, same content, same typos, same electronic signature. It would be nice if you could vary the information or update me on something you have done with my contribution. I get I am not one of your “big” donors, but I do respond every time you send me a request – which seems to be more often every year.
I called to let you know I was divorced about six months ago and changed my name, but you keep sending correspondence to my married name. I would really appreciate it if you would finally and forever change my name wherever you keep it. I hate getting letters with my old name almost as much as I hate my ex-husband.
And while I am writing, I wanted to let you know I received your last annual report – thank you. But it was mailed to my old address and forwarded by the post office. So there must be something wrong because your letters asking for my support reach my correct address, but the annual report did not.
I am wondering if you have an email you can send me with updates? I know I get email newsletters from other organizations and I know you have my email address, but I would like to get some more updates and information between your requests for money.
Thank YOU!
Your donor
Entry filed under: A Better You, Fundraising, Letters, Nonprofit fundraising. Tags: donor thank you letter faux pas, Donor thank you letters, fund raising, Fundraising, Nonprofit fundraising, What not to in a donor thank you letter.
1.
Mindi | August 1, 2012 at 3:33 pm
I give to an agency which I volunteered for overseas some years ago. I want all my money to them (aside from overhead of course) to go to that country’s programs, so I always sent it c/o a woman I worked with as a volunteer. I’ve now gotten three personalized letters from her as thank you’s, one including a picture of a child my donation specifically helped in the group home I worked in (I recognize the bedding). It’s now hanging on my office wall. I also got a generic “you’ve been assigned me as a personal donor manager” type letter from someone I didn’t know. I ignored this obviously quasi-form letter, but plan on giving again soon due to the personal correspondence from the woman I know, who even referenced in her latest missive the director I worked under. While I know not everyone has this unique situation, I wanted to comment as an example of how one agency does donor retention right.
2.
Barbara Talisman, CFRE | August 1, 2012 at 9:59 pm
Mindi,
Thanks so much for sharing. Sounds like you found a great organization to volunteer with and support financially.
Barbara
3.
robesie | July 30, 2012 at 11:56 am
It’s a great letter and some thing I think about often when someone makes a second gift (so few do, so even if it is a small amount, the effort is valuable and shows the donor REALLY cares about your mission).
I do always want to play devil’s advocate though: how many donors do you think read the thank you letter as opposed to glancing to make sure their name and address are correct and that they have the tax deductible amount and tax ID correctly written? I work in fundraising and find myself doing that every time I get a letter. Glance it over and then put it in my donations folder. I know I am not the typical direct mail donor (I’m in my late 20s), but I do work in fundraising and only really read direct mail closely (and really only for comparison sake to my own organization’s direct mail letters). We live in a busy world, how often do people read the letter?
4.
Barbara Talisman, CFRE | July 30, 2012 at 12:28 pm
Well Robin, I guess you make a good point. But I would contend it is our job as nonprofit professionals and fundraisers to make sure donors know how much we appreciate them. Thank you letters is often the first next step in forming a relationship. So if you aren’t reading the letter, there is something wrong. I need to not only communicate a thank you for your gift, but the thank you letter should also convey impact and engage the donor. We can do that through a collage of photos, update on a on program, fact sheet about the organization, info graphic or thank you letters could be written from program participants. It is up to us to make the engagement with our donors…well engaging. A thank you letter should not be seen as merely a to be filed piece of paperwork by us or our donors. It is too important for that and should be seen as part of an integrated communications and engagement plan for donor outreach.
Thanks for taking the time to read and comment. Love the discussion you started!
5. Future Fundraising Now | July 30, 2012 at 10:45 am
Thank you letters that make donors happy they gave…
Too often, the thank-you messages we send to donors are just bad. Talisman Thinking Out Loud captures some of that badness and how it might feel for the donor at From a Donor Regarding Your Thank You Letters: Every letter I receive is the same — same …
6.
Barbara Talisman, CFRE | July 30, 2012 at 12:12 pm
Jeff
Thanks so much for commenting and reposting on your blog. You are right, we need to spend more time crafting thank you letters – I say update them monthly!
Barbara
7.
Vanessa | July 24, 2012 at 3:12 pm
Great reminders here, Barbara. Treating donors like they matter is super important because they REALLY DO matter!
8.
Barbara Talisman, CFRE | July 24, 2012 at 3:16 pm
Thanks Vanessa! We need to update our thank you letters all the time!
Barbara
9.
Jeremy Butler | July 16, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Reblogged this on Butler's Blog.
10.
Barbara Talisman, CFRE | July 16, 2012 at 8:03 pm
Jeremy
Many thanks for reposting the “Thank You Letter”! Keep up your great alumni outreach!
Barbara