8 Ways To Thank Your Donors Other Than Acknowledgment Letters

If you think your work is done after you receive a donation, think again. After a supporter gives to your organization, you need to send them a donation acknowledgement letter. This is more than just another item on your to-do list that you need to check off. This is your chance to go one step further and thank the donor so you have a chance at retaining them and securing another donation in the future.

Sometimes your donation receipt functions as a donor acknowledgement. However, that’s not always the case. In fact, you should be going above and beyond to thank your donors. The more care you put into donor acknowledgements, the better.

Donor acknowledgements come in many different forms. You have the freedom here to be as creative as possible. Here are eight unique ideas for thanking your donors.

1. Send an email

You already have your donors’ email addresses so the fastest way to thank them is by sending a thank you email. This is an easier way to acknowledge your donors, but it’s important to do it in the right way.

Ideally, your email should include their donation amount, the specific impact it has on your organization, and an additional note of gratitude from your CEO, staff, or board members.

Think about what you would like to receive from a nonprofit organization after you make a donation and make sure your email reflects that. At the end of the day, your donors want to feel like they matter to your organization. Make the email as detailed and as personal as you can. This goes for every type of donation acknowledgement you send–no matter the format.

2. Make a phone call

If you have your donors’ phone numbers, you may want to call and thank them. This may not be something you have the time or bandwidth to do for all donation levels so come up with a set of criteria that determines when you’ll pick up the phone.

For example, are you only going to call certain people if they give more than $250? Are you going to regularly call recurring donors throughout the year? What phone calls are you going to make during the giving season?

3. List them on your website

Is there somewhere on your website where you can list your donors? Think about how 5k races often include their sponsors on the back of the race shirts. If you think your donors would appreciate taking up real estate on your nonprofit’s website, find a way to create a special page for them. Just don’t forget to share what their impact means to your organization!

Also, make sure before you share a donor’s name that they are OK with the publicity. Some people want their gifts to be private.

4. Shout them out on social media

If you can’t add a separate page to your nonprofit’s website, that’s OK! You can easily thank them on social media. This is a great way to publicly show how much a donor’s gift means to your organization. As with the website option, make sure your donors are OK with being publicly acknowledged.

5. Write them a letter

Do you have the time and bandwidth to handwrite thank you letters? If you do go with this option, make sure that you get the letter in the mail as soon as possible so your donors know that you’re thinking about them.

6. Mention them in your annual report

Does your nonprofit send out a digital or physical annual report every year? If so, consider creating a page where you list different tiers of donors. For example, your page could include donors that gave the nonprofit $500, $1,000, $5,000, and more.

At the very least, you need to make sure that your donors receive the annual report so they can keep up with how you’re using their donations.

7. Create a thank you video

We’ve written before about how to create a powerful thank you video. This will probably be a heavier lift for your team, but the benefits may be worth it. Check out that blog post for tips on how to create one of your own.

8. Thank them in person

Are your donors local? If so, think about taking the most generous donors out to coffee to thank them in person. Again, this is a more time-consuming option, but think about how special your donors will feel when you ask to meet them and get to know them better.

If you’re not able to meet in person–whether because of a major event like the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or because you don’t have time–there are other ways to connect. For example, you can send them a gift card to a local coffee shop or restaurant so they can enjoy a cup of coffee or a nice meal.

How else can you show your donors that you appreciate them?

You should also be thinking about how you can reward your donors for their loyalty. For example, you could segment certain donors into a list and make sure they get early access to future events or campaigns. If you sell merchandise, you can offer them discounts to your online store.

If you take away anything from this post, it should be the fact that you need to thank your donors as quickly as possible and in a way that shows how much they mean to your nonprofit. Without them, you wouldn’t be able to carry out your mission. Make sure they know that!

Oh and one more thing: The sooner you have your donor acknowledgment strategy in place, the better. Once you get organized and get a system in place, it’ll be one more thing off your plate and your mind.