The Importance Of A Thank-You Letter In Fund Raising
Every fundraising organization faces plenty of challenges when trying to raise money from the community. To make matters even worse, the fund raising team may have little experience when it comes to using the effective fund raising methods. Deadly mistakes can stifle the fundraising efforts and one of the most common mistakes is the constant failure to thank the donors. Therefore, if you are planning to raise a significant amount of money, you will have to focus on the thank-you letters as well – neglecting to thank each of your donors is not a wise thing. By doing this, your organization will be sending the wrong message – you aren’t trustworthy, you aren’t organized and you aren’t able to appreciate the donors for their precious gifts. Therefore, you will have to make sure that each of the thank-you letters you send to your donors is sincere, warm and quickly sent in order to let your donor know that your organization has received the gift and put it to work.
The thank-you letters must be prompt in order to build the necessary trust with your donors and start to prepare them for the next gifts. A thank-you letter that is focused on sending meaningful information will let your donor know that your organization uses the donation as it was intended. The donor will also be educated about the work your organization does. The thank-you letter must be personalized as well and it must be signed by your Executive Director because this will show your donor that he or she is an important person for your organization. These letters must be sent within the first 48 hours of your receipt of the donation. The thank-you letter must be addressed to your donor personally and it must contain detailed information about his or her donation.
Every letter must be signed in blue ink and it has to appear on your organization stationary – you mustn’t use a copy. The perfect thank-you letter will include handwritten and personal notes belonging to the Executive Director. So, you have to keep in mind to be prompt with your genuine gratitude – being prompt is all about being polite. Each of your donors must be reminded that he has made the right decision when sending a gift to your organization. The longer your organization takes to send the thank-you letter, the less likely your donors are to feel the genuine kinship with your fund raising cause. One of the main reasons why your donors may stop giving is that they feel forgotten and unappreciated. Therefore, you will have to show your true appreciation by thanking each of your donors in a quick, appropriate and enthusiastic manner. Here are some tips on writing successful thank-you letters. Be personal and address your donor by name, say thank you, be as specific as possible, show your donor how the gift is being successful, encourage dialogue, be kind and soft in asking for more donations and strive for originality. Happy writing!
