A thank you letter is the most important form of gratitude from the charity organisation to the donor for the contribution received from them. Key elements of such a letter include:
- Mandatory information like date, donor’s address
- Subject- This is the most important section of the letter. The subject should be short, mentioning thank you and the purpose or impact of the donation. For example- Thank You for your kind support towards sending a girl child to school.
- The body of the letter could include:
- Make it personalized- use the first name
- Focus on thank you and make them feel special.
- State, what good things their donation has done/would do, such as the impact/s their donation will make and what difference it will further make in the life of the beneficiary group
- Keep thank-you notes short. Avoid writing long letters. It should be short, crisp and to the point
- In this letter, refrain from asking for the next donation. The letter should talk about the impact their donation will make. This is an opportunity to show gratification.
- Specially recognize if this is a recurring donation. If this is a repeat donation, must mention this. For example- Thank You for your continuous contribution towards <project>
- If not possible to send a handwritten letter to all, add a signature physically. It should not look like computer-generated auto letter. So, a a signature is a must and preferably in blue ink if the letters are printed in normal black ink.
- Send the thank you letter as soon as possible. Sending a thank you letter after a very long time, may even result in donor forgetting about the donation. One should send a thank you letter, say, within 48 hours of confirmation of donation in the bank account.
Here is a sample thank you letter:
Dear (donor name),
Greetings from (organisation name)!
Thank you for your generous contribution to our programme, <name of the programme>. We are delighted to receive your kind support. Your contribution will help support <impact of donation>. This will help make a big difference in the lives of <beneficiary group>, who are adversely affected by <the problem>.
Thanks again for your kind support. If you have any query, need additional information, please do feel free to write to <ngo contact person name>, <contact information>.
We look forward to hearing from you,
Yours Sincerely,
<Name>
<Designation>
