Whew! Your year-end appeal is at the printer or in the mail.

But you can’t sit back and relax unless your thank you letter is every bit as good as your appeal letter. The thank you letter is an underutilized tool when it comes to building a relationship with donors.

Here are some ways to improve your thank you letters:

Emotion: Relationships with donors are rational, but remember, they’re emotional as well. That emotional element is often what’s missing from thank you letters (and too often from appeal letters as well).

Your supporters may offer many different reasons for why they give, but in fact, all their reasons boil down to this: They give because it makes them feel good.

And if your thank you letter makes them feel good, they will want to give again.

If you list a bunch of statistics in a cold letter, you’re not giving your donors what they need. You’re not engaging them on that emotional level. You’re not allowing them to bask in the warm glow of knowing they helped someone. You must reach them on an emotional level, and the best way to do that is to tell a story of someone whose life is better because of the donor’s gift.

Tell a story: When you write an appeal letter, you’re careful to include an emotional story of a service recipient that illustrates your need for donations. Why? It’s a powerful way to deliver a  message about the good work you do.

Use that same technique in your thank you letter— tell your donor a new story about how someone’s life was changed because of their gift.

Yes, it’s a lot of work. But think of it this way: You owe it to your donors. They’re fulfilling a need of your organization by donating money. What do they need in return? They need to feel good about their donation.

Don’t forget—The better they feel about helping your organization, the more likely they are to donate again.

Form: The form of the thank you should change based on the significance of the gift. Thank yous for  larger gifts should be more personal. They should include a hand-written note and use a hand-addressed envelope and first-class mail.

They’re not the only ones who need extra attention. New donors should get something special to help move them to the all-important second gift. You might include a fact sheet or create a new donor package.

Another group that needs extra attention is the group of donors who increased their gift from the prior gift. They should get a special thank you letter geared to encouraging them to want to increase again.

Tone: Too often, thank you letters are formal to the point of being perfunctory and standoffish. Instead, they should be warm and effusive. You should go over the top when you thank your donor.

Timeliness: For the thank you letter to have any value, it must be in the hands of the donor fast!

Making your thank you letter as good as your appeal letter takes a lot of work, but it can go a long way in retaining donors, and it can help encourage donors to increase their gift. It’s a good place to invest your time.

If you’re already spread too thin, this may be a good project to outsource. Contact us at 1-888-244-4013 or cstofko@fundraisingassets.com to see how cost effective our services can be.

What tips on thank you letters can you share with our readers?

Posted Under Uncategorized | 0 Comments

The Association of Fundraising Professionals Western New York Chapter recently held an interesting panel discussion called “Put Your Write Foot Forward: Essential Tips for Effective Development Writing.”

The panelists were Michael R. Barone, director of Public Relations for Fredonia State College; Cynthia G. Leavell, associate director of Development Communications for the University at Buffalo, and Jill A. Spira, director of Niagara County Community College Foundation, Inc.

Here are some of the tips they shared:

Tell a story: In addition to writing stories about those who receive your services, you might write a profile on a donor. The important thing is to tell why they gave their gift.

PS: Using a PS at the end of a fundraising appeal letter is very effective. People skim letters and may read the first paragraph and jump down to the bottom of the page.

Catch typos: Spell check doesn’t catch everything. Print out your text and read it out loud. Better yet, find someone else to read it, too. It’s better to have another pair of eyes look at it.

Branding: No matter who your audience is, make sure everything going out has the same look and feel.

Everybody wants to back a winner: It’s one thing to show your donors how important their gifts are, but don’t let them believe your institution’s finances are on shaky ground. Your donors want to know that you are successful.

Print vs. electronic: In general, older people like to touch and feel a newsletter or appeal letter. In general, younger people like electronic communications. But that’s not universal, and preferences change. It’s best to ask people how they’d like you to communicate with them. Remember, if you want to send an e-newsletter, you need to gather e-mail addresses.

Share the load: If you’re starting a new project, such as a Facebook page for alumni, realize that you’re probably going to need people from outside your office to help you.

Check your database: You may have many different volunteers helping you input information into your donor database. You may have mistakes or inconsistencies. Remember, what goes in is what comes out, so check your list before you do a mailing.

Online giving: Don’t expect everyone to mail you a check in response to a direct mail appeal. Make sure it’s easy for people to give online, too.

Thanks yous: A thank you letter is as important as an appeal letter. Personalize it, and include a handwritten note when possible.

Jill Spira recommends these helpful writing sites:

The Purdue University Online Writing Lab

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/

 More than 130 handouts (Web pages)including handouts on conducting research, constructing paragraphs, eliminating wordiness and learning about grammar, as well as anything and everything about writing for specific purposes.

A Synopsis of William Strunk Jr.’s The Elements of Style

http://bartleby.com/

Blog

http://www.dailywritingtips.com/

What tips can you share with our readers?

Posted Under Uncategorized | 8 Comments