Notice this section is entitled “Thank You Letters” and not simply “gift acknowledgements?” That’s because the task at hand is to THANK a donor, not simply to acknowledge their gift. You are grateful! Thankful! You are not simply acknowledging. You acknowledge people coming out of an elevator before you enter; you THANK donors.
While ALL letters to donors are important, thank-you letters are the MOST critical. There is nothing that can convert a willing and generous philanthropist into a disgruntled critic of a non-profit faster than a gift that is not acknowledged. Think about it: someone does something nice and entirely voluntary and the recipient of that largesse fails to acknowledge it. Not good. So, as you plan your office procedures and daily schedule, make sure gift acknowledgements are your TOP PRIORITY. If you don’t, you can say goodbye to future and larger gifts from people who already support you.
As with all things in life, timing is everything with thank you letters. They must go out as soon as possible. You should establish a policy in your office that all gifts must be acknowledged within a certain number of days from receipt — and then adhere to that policy with religious zeal. I suggest an outside deadline of no more than three business days. If your office cannot accommodate that, no more than five days is fine.
(NOTE: The one exception to the “no more than three (or five) days rule” for thanking donors for a gift is a when a gift is made in honor or memory of someone. Those should be handled IMMEDIATELY. When someone is grieving or celebrating, they are doing that NOW. If they have chosen to make your organization a participant in or beneficiary of that life passage, you should join them as they are observing it. Even more important… if a gift has been made in memory of someone who has recently passed away and the donor has asked that you notify the family of the deceased, drop everything and do it right away. You may want to use one of these letters to help you (LINK: COMING SOON).)
A speedy response to a gift is a strong and powerful sign of gratitude that donors recognize and appreciate and it will place you in good stead when you are approaching that donor for a subsequent gift.
Every so often, however, life intervenes. When staff go on vacation and there is no back-up, for example. Or if work and order are consumed by those pesky “cracks” that periodically cause our work to “fall,” thank you letters are sometimes delayed — or even forgotten for a while. When this happens, embrace your shame and send a letter that offers equal parts gratitude and apology. Do NOT fall prey to the very human tendency to avoid the embarrassment or decide it is “too late” to send something. It is never too late to say thank you.
Follow the links below to sample letters to get you started. However, please remember that, while it’s perfectly fine to use stock language for thank you letters, you should also insert personalized information when appropriate to make the letter more personal and sincere. Also, remember to periodically refresh your stock thank you letters, so repeat donors do not get the same letter twice.
Basic Thank You Letter
Second Person Thank You Letter| Use this letter if a gift or a relationship suggests that more than one thank-you letter should be sent to a donor – from the site director AND from a board member who is a friend of the donor, for example.
Letter for a Gift Made in Honor or Memory of Someone
Letter Notifying a Family or Loved One of a Gift Made in Honor or Memory of Someone
