The Art of Thank You Letters Training Webinar
Thanking your donors is one of the most important elements in donor retention. Learn best practices for thanking your donors and what to include in your donation acknowledgement letters. We’ll also cover tools in DonorSnap to help you along the way.
Quick Recap
The trainer from DonorSnap led a webinar on writing effective thank you letters to donors, emphasizing their importance in donor retention and stewardship. She discussed best practices for personalizing and customizing these letters, including showing the impact of donations and avoiding immediate solicitations. The trainer also provided guidance on managing different types of donations, creating templates, and leveraging DonorSnap’s tools to streamline the process.
Meeting Summary
Effective Thank You Letter Writing
The trainer led a webinar on the art of writing effective thank you letters. She emphasized the importance of these letters and shared best practices for writing them. The trainer also hinted at the use of tools in DonorSnap to aid in the writing process, but did not delve into technical aspects as these were covered in a previous webinar.
Donor Stewardship and Personalized Thank You
The trainer discussed the importance of donor stewardship, particularly through personalized and timely thank you letters. She highlighted the value of these letters in retaining donors, with a 60% retention rate for first-time donors and a 90% rate for monthly donors. The trainer emphasized the need to show donors the impact of their gifts and to avoid soliciting them too soon after a donation. She also suggested updating the letters yearly and customizing them according to the donor’s demographic. The trainer stressed the importance of thanking donors promptly and showing them the specific difference their donation made.
Personalizing Thank You Letters to Donors
The trainer discussed the importance of showing impact and personalization in thank you letters to donors. She emphasized that it’s best not to include additional asks in these letters, as it depends on the organization and the audience. The trainer also highlighted the value of using merge fields to personalize the letters, such as referencing a donor’s giving history. She suggested having a template library for different types of donations, like new donors, recurring donations, and memorial gifts. Lastly, she stressed the importance of good data entry for efficient tracking of donors and their donation types.
Managing and Personalizing Thank You Letters
The trainer discussed the process of managing and personalizing thank you letters for donations. She explained how to create different batches for various types of donations, such as the 5K event, and how to assign these to individual donors. The trainer also emphasized the importance of personalizing letters, including specific details about the donation, the donor’s name, and the impact of the donation. She suggested adding a handwritten note and a powerful story to make the letter more impactful. The trainer also mentioned the option of using a PS to include a call to action.
Personalizing Thank You Letters
The trainer discussed the importance of personalizing thank you letters to inspire continued giving. She highlighted the need to avoid dry and impersonal openings, and instead, use language that resonates with the organization’s audience. The trainer also emphasized the importance of referencing the donor’s giving history, the specific impact of their gift, and using a real person’s name to make the letter feel more personal. She concluded by suggesting a few tweaks to a sample letter to make it more effective.
Donor Engagement and Recurring Donations
The trainer discussed the importance of thanking donors, particularly those who make recurring donations. She suggested that while official thank you letters are necessary, handwritten notes can also be a thoughtful touch. The trainer emphasized the need for a welcome packet for new recurring donors, outlining what they can expect, such as monthly receipts or a year-end tax statement. She also suggested personalized interactions, like handwritten notes or special newsletters, to keep donors engaged. The trainer highlighted the benefits of recurring donations, including administrative efficiency and environmental sustainability. She concluded by recommending a point of contact for donors who wish to change their gift amount and a space for tax requirements.
Customizing Donation Acknowledgement Letters
The trainer discussed the importance of formal acknowledgement letters for online donations, despite the instant confirmation emails and pages. She suggested that these emails and pages could be customized to engage donors more effectively. The trainer also mentioned the option to print or email these letters, with printing feeling more official. She provided instructions on how to edit the confirmation page and email settings, and recommended a blog post for further ideas and inspiration.
Related Pages:
Building Acknowledgement Letters in Word
Donation Acknowledgements Overview Training Webinar
Getting Started 104: Acknowledgement Letters