One of the most important parts of running a nonprofit is making sure you're staying compliant with government regulations. The last thing you want is to spend your time dealing with legal trouble. One of the ways your nonprofit can ensure that you're staying compliant is by issuing donation receipts and acknowledgement letters to your donors.
A donation tax receipt is essential for your organization and donors, and they ensure you're maintaining good relationships with your donors. We recommend that you use a donor management system that has an automatic receipt feature built in. This will make sure that you're staying compliant with tax receipt regulations without having to take the extra time to send receipts every time you receive a donation.
Automated receipts will save you a lot of time in the long run. That's why it's important to set up email and letter templates for all the types of receipts your nonprofit will need to send. We've adapted these Bloomerang email templates to work for any nonprofit. Just make sure you update them with the custom fields that your donor management system uses.
These email and letter templates will help you create compelling donation receipts without taking your time away from your donors:
It's a good idea to start your donation receipt templates with a generic email or letter that you can send for any donation or non-cash gift.
Hello, Sarah!
It's people like you who make what we do possible. Your donation of $250 on July 4, 2019, to our Save the Turtles! Campaign is greatly appreciated. So, let us be the first to say THANK YOU for being a part of our mission in saving the Sea Turtles!
Since 2013, we've been working tirelessly to ensure that the habitats for these beautiful creatures remain intact, as well as promoting their health and well-being to those who live in the communities around them.
Your amazing donation of $250 has a tax deductible amount of $200. Below, you will find a receipt for your records. Don't worry, we'll also send out a year-end tax summary in time for you to file early next year.
If you need to make any adjustments, you can follow the link below to manage your giving options with our donor management system, Bloomerang.
Thanks again!
JonathanThe Sea Turtle Foundation
If you have a monthly giving program, you'll need a donation receipt template that will automatically thank your recurring donors. You can use this template to thank donors when they first set up their ongoing donation.
For example, if today is June 15, and the donor creates a recurring donation to process on the 25th of the month, this receipt will confirm when their transaction will process.
You'll also need a receipt that sends every time your recurring donor's transaction processes. We recommend using a template that tells the ongoing story of your nonprofit for your regular donors. This will help them feel connected to your work month after month and motivate them to continue giving or upgrade their gift.
If your organization uses pledges in your fundraising portfolio, you'll need an email template that sends as soon as you process a donor's pledge. This serves as a confirmation for your donor of their commitment to give.
Dear James,Thank you so much for making this pledge to us! Your promise for the future helps us effectively forecast our plans for creating sustainable habitats for our sea turtles.
Below is your pledge information we received. We look forward to working with you to complete this pledge! Be on the lookout from our team for ways to complete this. Just so you know, any future donation can be applied towards this if you so choose.
Thank you so much!
JonathanThe Sea Turtle Foundation
There will be times when your donors' transactions are not successfully processed. There are a variety of reasons for this, but in any case, you'll need to notify your donors when this occurs. Some platforms like Bloomerang will have a standard template for failed transactions. The benefit of using Bloomerang's standard template is that it will automatically include important information for your donor. This information includes:
We recommend checking with the platform you use to process transactions—your donor management system, online fundraising platform, or payment processor—to determine if this feature is available. It likely is, but if not, we recommend creating a simple template that provides your donor with the information they need. We also recommend providing a link or directions for your donor to update their information.
Just like the failed transaction email, Bloomerang also offers a standard template for donors who have a credit card that's expiring soon. Bloomerang automatically sends this email 60 days before the card expires. If you're not using donation software that has this feature built in, we recommend using a template that notifies the donor and gives them instructions for what to do next.
When it comes to staying organized with donation tracking, receipts, and payment information, it's important to integrate your systems. Make sure your payment processor and online fundraising platform connect with your donor management system, or use a unified giving platform such as Bloomerang. This will allow you to automate important processes like sending your donation receipt emails and letters. It will also allow you to personalize your thank you letters to help reinforce your relationships with your donors.
