WHY You Must Send Thank-You
Letters – The
Missing Link in
Fundraising Appeals
by Karen Zapp
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I firmly believe thank-you letters ought to be promptly sent
to
donors. It’s a matter of less-than-common courtesy. I say less-than-common
because “common courtesy” just isn’t all that common anymore,
unfortunately.
The good news is by doing this you’ll stand out from the crowd. Plus you’ll
garner more of your donor’s attention. In my article Fundraising Courtesy I
outline the elements of a solid thank-you letter along with other tips for a
strong letter.
Now back to WHY you should send thank-you letters. In addition to being
the polite thing to do, donors expect it. And when you don’t do what
they expect – especially something they think you should do – you’re
creating problems for yourself and your long term fundraising results.
Countless studies, focus groups, surveys, etc. consistently reveal essentially
all donors want their gift acknowledged. And if you don’t send a special
letter just to say thanks, you’ll change the perception donors have of you
in a less than favorable way.
- You’ll be perceived as ungrateful: “They
certainly cashed my check fast enough. But I guess it didn’t
mean enough to send a simple thank-you note.”
- You’ll be perceived as self-centered: “All
they care about is getting my money. They could care less about
me.”
- You’ll be perceived as disorganized and inefficient: “I
sent them money 2 months ago and just now received a thank you!
Meanwhile I received another letter asking for money pretty darn
quick . . . in fact it was within a couple weeks of sending in
my check. I don’t know. If they’re that disorganized
I wonder how well they’re spending my money. Should I give
again?”
- You’ll be responded to less warmly in
the future: “When I receive a thank-you I know my
check arrived safely; I know they care about me; and well, I
like getting a thank-you note. These folks didn’t do that
and it’s so simple to do. That’s the last check they’ll
get from me!
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So HOW do you write a strong thank you letter?
After reading just the first part of this article you know WHY these letters are vitally important to your nonprofit's overall success. If you're ready for some in-depth "how-to" guidance on writing a stronger acknowledgement letter - including examples of copy to use - then Click Here for the ZAPP GUIDE to Thank You Letters.
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If you’re still not convinced how important this is to your overall fundraising
strategy, testing has proven time and again that ...
- You get better response in follow-on
appeals if you send a thank-you for each gift received.
- Thank-you letters strengthen donor
loyalty.
- And related to number 2, they’re
critical to donor cultivation because they build long-term
relationships.
I expect you’ve heard it before:
It costs far less to retain a donor than to acquire a brand
new one. Saying thank-you is not only polite, but it nurtures
the precious relationship you have with your donors. And as number 1 suggests,
it’s another critical step in getting a subsequent gift.
Another reason worth mentioning is the thank-you letter serves as a receipt
for your donor’s gift. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) adjusts its
requirements from time to time so check with your advisors, but as of this
writing: All 501(c)(3)
organizations must send written letters for all gifts of $75 or more and
when offering a substantial premium or incentive for giving.
And donors who give $250 or more must obtain a written document from the
charity to qualify for a tax deduction. So when you send a thank-you note
and state
the amount, you’re helping your donor because they don’t have to request
it. You’ve not only thanked them, you’ve done them a favor.
Whether asking savvy nonprofits or seasoned consultants, they all agree that speed
is essential. In a perfect world the thank-you letter goes
out within a day of receiving the gift. At “worst” send it within
a week.
If you only send out thank-you letters every couple weeks or monthly you
run afoul of donor goodwill. A costly mistake. The relationship deteriorates,
revenue
isn’t as high as it could be, and your cash flow is delayed.
Sending these letters certainly costs money. But not sending them will cost
you more money. Nonetheless, if you’re in a severe budget dilemma, examine your
file. What’s your average gift size? One source says if it’s around
ten bucks then thank everyone. If it’s $15 or higher it may not
be cost-effective to recognize the $5 and $8 donors. Analyze this very, very
carefully.
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Thank you letters are your most important donor cultivation tool . . . and they'll also help make your fundraising more efficient — more cost effective.
I spelled out "WHY" thank you letters are an essential tool for your nonprofit in this article. And in the ZAPP GUIDE to Thank You Letters I spell out "HOW" to write acknowledgement letters in detail — including an actual sample letter and other copy you can use.
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There’s considerable debate over whether to include a “soft” ask
in your thank-you letter. Some experts say ‘yes’ and others say ‘no.’ I prefer that you don't include any kind of an "ask" but the best answer is to test it.
So if you don’t have a finely honed system in place for donor acknowledgement, I
strongly recommend you make it a priority to get one immediately.
Skip it and you’re missing a link – a
vital link – in the fundraising chain.
History dictates you’ll receive more revenue as
a direct result of these letters.
If you would like more specifics on what to include in your thank-you letter,
please read my article Fundraising Courtesy.
Finally, I'd be happy to write a thank you letter for you. Or perhaps you prefer to have me critique a letter you've already written. Just drop me a line and we'll take it from there.
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