As stated by Classy, “in a survey asking donors why they stopped supporting an organization, 53% cited poor communication” as the main reason. If you are interested in contacting the same folks with your fundraiser next year, rather than starting from scratch, listen up: you need to thank them! Welcome to step two of your fundraising wrap-up checklist.

STEP TWO: PROPERLY THANK DONORS FOR THEIR SUPPORT

Things to remember when you thank donors

BE OLD-FASHIONED

There’s a lot of great perks of living in the 21st century when it comes to fundraising efficiencies, but a loss is that things can feel a lot less personal. When it comes to thanking people who have helped support your organization, it’s a good time to slow down and thank them from the heart, even with a handwritten note. Here are our best tips for thank you letters.

BE SPECIFIC

One thing that your supporters will especially appreciate hearing is how their money directly impacted your organization. If you’re a sports team raising money for jerseys, tell them who got the jersey they essentially paid for. That way they have a visual of who they helped and will more easily recall it when you ask them to consider helping again next year.

DON’T BE BORING

It’s easy to follow a template to ensure your organization sounds professional when you write your thank you’s, but people have read such notes before. They likely care to see your personality more so than your formalities. Tell a funny story of something that happened during the fundraiser or share an inside joke about your organization.

BE SPEEDY

These are an easy thing to put on the long-term to-do list as you think to yourself, “I can sit down and whip them out another day.” However, time is of the essence. This is especially true if you fundraised with Evergreen right before the holidays as your thank you could easily get lost in all the other holiday cards they receive. Or they could assume you weren’t going to thank them and retain that negative thought in their mind even when you do.

PRO TIP: SEND ANOTHER ONE

One thank you is awesome in itself, but imagine if you sent a second about six months from now. That way, you could demonstrate tangible results – such as photos of your hockey jersey worn throughout the season. This would not only stand out as it’s rare fundraisers take time for this, but it would also remind them to perhaps plan to donate again the following year.

NonprofitHub advises you to be specific: “Why did my donation matter? What did it accomplish? Why should I be hopeful and excited to contribute to the future my donations are creating? Whose life was changed? The follow up needs to be just as carefully crafted as the appeal and the thank-you.”

If you want more follow-up thank you ideas besides a traditional note, check out our posts “Best Fundraiser Followup Ideas for 2017” and “5 Ways to Say Thank You to Your Fundraiser Donors.”