You wrote a dynamite year-end appeal. You’re now receiving those badly needed year-end gifts.

Your donor is wondering if she made a wise investment in your cause.

Now it’s time to write a drop-dead thank you letter. One that will:

• Assure your nervous donor that she made a wise investment.
• Make your donor SO VERY HAPPY that she gave to your cause.
• Make your donor feel like she did the RIGHT THING.
• Bring joy to her heart – and to her life. And to her own holiday season.

Your thank you letter is the first step toward RETAINING this donor.

Don’t let her become one of the many donors who give once and then drop away.

Make your thank you letter memorable, and she’ll be impressed.

She will remember you. And she’ll feel closer to your organization.

Think about how your thank you letter makes your donor feel.

1.  Make it prompt.

A really prompt TY note impresses your donor. It indicates to her that your organization is well run.

And in this day of nervous donors, that gives you a significant leg up.

2.  Make it personal.

Penelope Burk always says donors want a prompt, personal thank you before they are willing to consider a repeat gift.

Her landmark book, Donor Centered Fundraising, has a terrific list of 20 attributes of a great thank you letter. I’m referring to some of hers here as well as my own.

So what does personal look like?

-       Use of the first person “I” and “we.”

-       Use the second person: “you,” “you” and “you” again.

Your donor loves you more when you are warm and gracious!

-       A warm tone toward the donor (vs a lofty formal, distant tone.)

-       Casual writing – use contractions such as We’ll rather than We will.

-       Use an exclamation mark if appropriate.

3.  Starts out in a personal way.

Never, never, never begin with “on behalf of . . . “

Instead try an unusual opening line.

4.  Has a warm tone.

Be sincere. Show some thoughtfulness. Show yourself as a person, and try to connect with the donor instead of staying so distant.

5.  Be emotional.

Don’t bury it.  Wear your heart on your sleeve.Try to convey excitement about what can happen with the donor’s gift.

Say things like,

• “ I can’t begin to thank you enough for . . .
• “We are absolutely thrilled to have your support again this year.
• “Because of your gift, a family will have . . . (or a kid will get . . . ; or our water will be cleaner. Or whatever.
• ‘Your gift is helping to improve the lives of . . .

6.  Send a real letter, not a pre-printed card.

Never send a pre-printed card. It’s just too impersonal.

Your donor has just sent you his money. He is saying that he believes in you and trust you.

Sending a pre-printed card is a turn off – no matter what the size of the gift.

7.  Thank smaller gifts warmly.

Smaller gifts also get warm, prompt, personal thank yous.

Your donor wants to be treated like a real person, not an ATM!

You have many major gift prospects in your donor files who are giving you smaller gifts.

Treat these donors well and they’ll reward you with repeat and larger gifts.

8.  Refer to the donor’s past support if you possibly can.

Acknowledge the long term partnership your donor has with your organization.

And celebrate it.

9.  Use the donor’s name in the salutation.

Yes:  Dear Ms. Smith No: Dear Friend.

Certainly, with today’s technology, you can personalize these letters.

10.  Sign the letter personally and write a note at the bottom.

You spent all that time writing notes on the solicitation letters.

Don’t forget to send warm wishes in the thank you!

11. Send more than one thank you letter.

All from different people at the organization.

In this day of shrinking donor dollars, this small step could help your organization stand out and forge a much stronger relationship with your donors.

12.  Send an additional thank you letter from a board member.

I know organizations that bring stationery to the board meetings and have board members hand-write letters.

I love this and it helps connect trustees to the fundraising process.

13.  Have a high-ranking person personally sign the letter.

Penelope Burk suggests that an arts organization can have the artistic director, the conductor or ever the prima ballerina sign the letter.

What a great idea!

What a lovely thank you letter!

14.  Send a TY letter from a person helped by your organization.

I can’t think of ANYTHING more powerful than this, can you?

15.  Reconfirm the purpose of the gift.

If the gift is for the library, for example, say something about what the library plans to achieve with the gift.

Most donors are worried that their gift will not be spent wisely.

You can assure them by talking about the impact this money will make.

16.  Include a contact name and number.

Ideally, it would be the head of the library if that’s where the donor directed her gift.

This assures the donor. It helps her feel more connected.

Bottom Line: Thank You Letter Do’s and Don’ts

Here’s a quick list summarizing my DO’s and Don’ts:

Thank you letter DO’s

• Be really, really prompt.
• Get the donor’s name right.
• Have a high-ranking person personally sign the letter.
• Show some emotion.
• Convey gratitude.
• Wear your heart on your sleeve.
• Refer to how the gift will be used.
• Personalize the salutation: Dear Mr. Smith.
• Send several TY notes from different people.
• Send additional thank you letters from board members.
• Send a TY letter from someone helped by your organization.
• Sign it with a real signature.
• Be positive and upbeat.
• Include a contact name and number if the donor has questions.
• Handwrite it if you know the donor well.
• Begin with an innovative or creative sentence that charms the donor.

THANK YOU LETTER DON’TS

• Start out with “on behalf of.”
• Ask for another gift.
• Use thank you letter jargon: “we are deeply grateful for your continued support”
• Start out with Dear Friend.
• Ask anything else from your donor right now.
• Misspell their name.
• Have errors in grammar, punctuation or misspellings.
• Go on and on. Ditch the verbosity. Do be concise.
• Don’t keep “selling.
• Don’t re-use copy that you used in the solicitation letter to talk about your programs.
• Don’t be formal. Or lofty.
• Don’t be vague about how the money will be used.
• Don’t sign it yourself if you can get a higher-ranking person to sign it.

Next Step:

What are YOUR favorite warm and fuzzy thank you letter words and phrases? Can you share them in the comments below?

Year-end is coming!  And online gifts will spike up in December. (We hope!)

Especially the last two days of the year.

Is your web site ready to handle all this attention?

And, did you know that most donors check out your web site before they make a gift? And they do this whether they are giving online or through the mail.

So your web site needs to tell a happy story about your cause. It needs to welcome donors and visitors.

It needs to have the information that donors are looking for:

1. Easy navigation.

When someone comes to your site, can they find out what they want easily?

Don’t make your donor have to think.

Make everything clear, plain and easy to read and understand.

Use a startling headline or a vivid image to engage your donor quickly.

If your navigation is confusing, you’ll probably lose your donor.

2. Lots of pictures and fewer words.

Terrific photos tell your story visually.  And on your web site, images are more compelling than words.

Your donors are skimming, skimming – quickly, quickly.

Lots of words, cumbersome phrasing, crowded text will drive them away quickly.

Verbosity can kill you on a web site. Let great pictures do the talking.

3.  Links to your Guidestar and Charity Navigator profiles.

I don’t  like this any more than you do, especially Charity Nav. But here’s the reality:

Donors today want to check out your overhead costs. They are obsessing over admin costs.

Yes, it’s crazy. (How can you run a nonprofit without admin costs? – just don’t get me started on this!)

See my post: “How to Talk To Your Donors About Overhead Costs.”

Make it easy for donors to find this information. You will build trust.

4.Credibility.

Since donors are more mistrustful of institutions and organizations these days, try to convey credibility by sharing:

• your board members names (who’s standing behind this organization? who’s accountable?)
• your track record – successes
• longevity (a long track record means a lot)
• endorsements
• testimonials

5. A clear call to action.

Donors are in a hurry. If they come to visit, by all means, TELL THEM WHAT YOU NEED THEM TO DO!

You should have a call to action in everything you do, everything you send out, and on every web page.

6. An easy way to donate.

Don’t make your donor work to find out how to give. Don’t make them hunt.

Put the DONATE NOW button clearly where they can find it.

Show them the easy way.

Or you may lose them.

7. A simple donation form.

I hear horror stories of how many donors ABANDON nonprofit donation pages.  I’ve heard figures as high as 96% of people who visit the page, will never complete the form.

Just think how many times you’ve loaded up a shopping cart in an online store – and never completed the checkout process.

Consider this: every box your donor has to fill in increases her impatience with the process.

And if she gets to the point of frustration, you’ve probably lost her.

8. A page titled “Your Gifts At Work.”

In this recession, donors want to see the impact of their gifts.

They want to know exactly where their money is going and how it’s being used.

Lay it out clearly for them in pie charts: where your money comes from and where it goes.

Make it plain and simple.

This is what transparency really means: sharing the details of how much money you are raising and what you do with it.

9. Interaction.

Invite interaction with your web visitors.

Offer a chance for doors to have a dialog with you. Perhaps a survey to answer.  Can they post a comment?

Donors want the ability to comment, to discuss, to learn more about you.

Get your web site visitor involved: Ask them to volunteer or take some action.

Always ask for more than money. Treat people like real people, not like they are wallets.

10. Physical address and phone.

I wish I had a penny for every time I had to hunt, hunt, hunt for a darned phone number or a street address.

What’s with it when a nonprofit doesn’t include this essential info?

Give your donor easy access to you.  Be welcoming.

And your donor may reward you with a gift, and another gift!

Was this list helpful? Leave a comment and say why or why not!

There’s nothing more important this fall than your year-end fundraising effort.

The next six weeks is the time when many nonprofits receive most of their contributions.

And there is so much at stake right now.

This year, more than ever, you’ve got to engage donors in your opportunity and ask them to join you – in a smart, effective and compelling way.

If you want to raise tons of money this year-end, join my new virtual coaching group, Fired-Up Fundraising Insiders. It’s going to be packed with action steps you can put to work right away.

I’m helping my insiders make a quantum leap in their 2011 fundraising results.

Industry gurus Tom Ahern, John Haydon, Katya Andreson, and I will be helping them craft amazingly successful year-end campaigns. Discount charter membership closes Monday, Nov 21, so check us out now!

Here’s my  top 10 list of ways to sabotage your year-end fundraising effort.

1.  Send a letter that’s hard to read.

. . . with ponderous sentences, long paragraphs and no white space.  This fails the “easy to read” test, which is the first hurdle for your reader, who is skimming your prose for the highlights only.

Check out my list of 115 Ways to Raise More Money by Mail for guidelines on writing an effective letter.

Ditch the lofty tone and be casual, friendly to your reader.

"You" is the magic word in your year-end letter.

2.  Send a letter that’s all about you – not all about the donor.

Check out what a donor-centered letter really looks like.

I wrote this letter for a client and it uses the word “you” sixteen times.

Copy it and knock it off!

3.  Bury the ask deep inside a paragraph.

. . . or at the end of a sentence. Your reader must be able to easily find out how much you are asking for and for what purpose.

Put your ask in a stand alone sentence so it stands out.

Make it plainly clear what you are asking for – and ask cheerfully!

4.  Don’t include a  reply envelope.

You’d be surprised how many organizations leave out this VITAL component.

You have to make it easy for people to give.

This is so basic, but if you leave it out, you’re dead.

5.  Don’t update your web site.

Don't make your web site a confusing maze!

Donors – even those who give by writing a check and sending it in the mail – will often check out your web site to research you before they give.

And your website MUST look professional and up-to-date! And it must convey credibility and legitimacy.

6. Only send out one appeal letter.

This is disaster for many campaigns.  Some studies show that one letter will typically get a 15% response – NOT enough to make your year-end goal.

You need to send out a sequence of appeals using multiple channels.

For example: start with a phone thankathon. Then send a postcard announcing your campaign. Then send the appeal letter, and an followup appeal. Send several emails with the same message. Finally do a phone followup.

Your donors are too busy and need repeated reminders. And no, it is not tacky to keep reminding them!

7.  Don’t do phone followup.

Studies show that a followup phone call can possibly double your results.

Followup phone calls make a huge difference to your year-end!

8.  Don’t do an email push to non-donors the last two days of December.

Most online donors give in December and most of them are on the last two days of December.

NOW is the time to get your online donation process working smoothly.

Time emails to go out those last two days when online giving spikes up.

9.  Don’t send a PROMPT, warm, personal thank you immediately to your donors.

And “warm, personal” does not mean “on behalf of the board of directors we thank you for blah blah” – this impersonal bunk doesn’t warm your donor’s heart.

A warm thank you uses the words “we” and “you” and is conversational in tone – not institutional.

Penelope Burk’s all time favorite thank you letter begins like this:

“You must have heard the cheers in our halls when we received your generous pledge.”

10. Don’t have your board members call donors to thank them.

. . . within 24 hours of the gift’s receipt. Penelope Burk’s landmark studies showed that when board members made a quick thank you call, then subsequent gifts from the donors rose by 39%!

Bottom line:

Avoid these mistakes at all costs!

Don’t screw up: Create a dynamite year-end campaign that brings in the urgently needed resources you need.

Here are some other posts to help you raise more money than ever this year-end:

• Top 10 Tactics to Raise More Money This Year-End
• Increase Your Year-End Fundraising Results With This Simple Step
• The Two Things Donors Want to Hear When You Appeal to Them at Year-End
• Where to Find the Gold In Your Fundraising This Fall

Leave me a comment and tell me what you think!

The latest data on fundraising trends are showing some scary figures – and some optimistic ones too.

Will or won't your donors give this year-end?

Did you know that the overall numbers of donors is plummeting?

A recent study showed that donor populations have dropped by 21% in the past 5 years.

Check out the study by Target Analytics  here.

Target says even though donors are giving larger gifts, that’s not offsetting overall revenue losses from fewer donors.

But You probably don’t need me to tell you that we are all seeing fewer donors.

But here’s the really good news.

77% of major donors are planning to give the same or more as last year.

It’s the latest from Penelope Burk’s studies:  52% of major donors interviewed this fall said they expected to donate the same amount in this year-end as last year-end.

Yes, yes and yes again!

And 25% expect to give MORE this year-end.

This is absolutely terrific news!

Guru researcher Penelope Burk checked back in with donors this fall to see if they were changing their year-end giving plans at all.  She shared this latest data in a webinar recently.

But there’s more. She asked:

Why would these donors give more this year-end?

Number one reason? If the organization has a good record of providing measurable results.

You’ve probably heard me say this over and over – that donors want to see measurable results.

Well, it’s more important now than ever before.

You’ve got to prove your credibility to your donors, and you need to demonstrate trustworthiness.  They need to be reassured that you will spend the money wisely.

Donors want to be reassured that you will spend their money wisely.

What matters most? Your reputation and trustworthiness.

Are you a good steward of money? Is your program cost-effective?

I think today’s weary donors are finicky – they are uncertain and wary.

Burk recommends that you say exactly what you are raising money for, and then report back to them on what you accomplished with their gift.

More reasons why they’ll give more this year:

• “My financial situation allows me to be more generous.”  (73% of younger donors, 44% of older ones)

• “Charitable organizationss need more help now.”  (48% of younger donors. 59% of older ones)

• 55%  If I were asked by someone I know or by a  leadership volunteer of the organization. (calling all board members!)
  

• 51%  If the organization is more cost effective than others.

• 48%  If the organization does not ask too often.

OK, my friends and colleagues, here’s your year-end fundraising blueprint.

You’ve got all the hot buttons that you need to hit listed right here.

Building trust with your donors is KEY!

It’s up to you what you do with this!

Why’s the latest research so very important?

because it gives you a short cut. It helps you be efficient and effective with your time and your energy.

You know exactly what strategies to implement that will bring in the best results.

It saves you time, energy and raises you lots more money.

That’s why you need to check out my new coaching club Fired Up Fundraising Insiders.

I’m going to bring the latest strategies right to you over and over.

Every month, my Insiders and I are going to tackle a subject area of fundraising, and we are going to drill down into the topic with world-class experts.

It’s going to be a guru fest: I’ve got copywriting expert Tom Ahern lined up for November to help us create a KILLER last minute appeal.  Online fundraising expert John Haydon will join us December to design email strategies for the year end.

The great Penelope Burk herself (giving a rare private master class) and Fundraising Success editor Margaret Battestelli will share their predictions for 2012 in January.

AND I’m holding an open Coaching Call each month with members of the Insiders Club. AND I’m giving everybody my Free Workbooks. AND I’m holding an online private member forum where you can ask me questions and discuss them with your peers. AND I’m giving you checklists of Action Items so you can implement everything and put it to work.

You can find out more here.

Join me to turn your office into a Fundraising Machine!

I really want to help you raise as much money as possible.

Here’s my Call to Action!

Check out my brand new virtual coaching and training program. And join me today!

I’m offering my personal 100% satisfaction guaranteed. If your return on your investment is not at least 5 or 10 times the cost of the program, I will give you your money back! I’m that sure I can help you.

If you need to raise tons more money – especially the major gifts your organization so urgently needs, become one of my Insiders! We’re gonna have some fun too! : )

Don’t wait! Charter Membership closes November 21!

Donor-centered means it's all about the donor!

You’ve probably heard all the talk about making all your appeals in a “donor-centered” fashion.

But what does “donor-centered” really mean? What does it look like in action?

We all know what we are supposed to do.

We’re supposed to make it all about the donor and not about our organization.

It’s easy to pay lip service to this idea, but putting it into practice is much harder than it may seem.

How do you actually implement donor-centered communications?

This letter was a huge hit in my FREE webinars this week, “Where to Find the Donors This Fall: Fine Tune Your Year-End Appeals.”

Everybody wanted a copy of the letter so I wanted to make it available on my blog.

And the webinars were so popular and heavily subscribed that I added an extra session next Monday night, November 7, at 7pm ET. Join me!

Here’s what a donor-centered appeal looks like.

I wrote this last week for one of my favorite consulting clients – a  hospital foundation.

The smart development staff there is eager to learn everything I’m teaching them about fundraising for today’s donor.

And we’ve been working on best practices in direct mail – how to make letters sound personal, more casual and friendly.

The original unedited letter we developed went a bit like this:

Dear Mr. Donor:

Did you know that last year Smith Hospital:

• got this award expanded
• this center of medicine
• brought in xx number of new doctors
• did this, did that, etc.
  

It was a nice letter, written in the correct tone we had been working on, with bullets and white space.

And I liked that the word “you” showed up immediately in the first sentence.

But the letter seemed all about the hospital, and not about the donor.

What the donor wants to hear, and what you want to say are probably totally different.

So I sat down and, just brainstorming with the staff, came up with this letter instead.

And I think this is a true sample of what people mean by “donor-centered.”

Can it be improved? Sure it can.  I’d like to see it be much more specific. But it’s a step in the right direction.

Here is a letter that’s is friendly, casual, heart-felt and even a bit intimate.

Its tone is very personal. It has short sentences, action verbs, lots of white space.

And it talks about the donor and what she wants out of the hospital.

My “donor-centered” appeal letter is all about the donor.

And I’d be pleased if you’d like to knock off any part of this letter.

If any words or phrases seem to ring true to your cause and for your donors, by all means USE THEM.

Please don’t feel like you have to reinvent the wheel.. It’s a waste of your time.

Any nonprofit can use words or phrases like:

“Your donation will make a world of difference.  I promise you.”

And this letter uses the word “you” 16 times. It uses the pronoun “your” 9 times.

Knock this letter off. Adapt this and USE IT!

Dear Name,

When you or a family member is ill or injured, where do you turn?

If you’re like most in our community, you go to Smith Hospital.

Why?

Because you know you will receive absolute top notch medical care.

And you also know that you’ll be treated like a real person, by dedicated, compassionate health professionals in a warm, caring environment.

Your contributions have helped make Smith Hospital the leading regional health care provider that it is.  We are so grateful to you for supporting our committed team of care givers.

Thanks to you, our caregivers have touched the lives of thousands – whether they faced an urgent need, a devastating disease or sought to improve their quality of life.

Smith Hospital is your community hospital.  We exist to serve you and your loved ones – to provide hope, healing and recovery.

In this uncertain economic time, the Hospital counts on your support – now more than ever.

Your gift is extremely important to Smith Hospital because it provides resources that make an immediate impact – that will help us through these interesting – and tough – times.

Your gift of $100, $500, $1,000 or $5,000 can make all the difference…… to our doctors, our nurses, our therapists, our pharmacists, our dietitians, our technicians, our Emergency Department staff – to every one here who works to serve you.

And if you’d like, you can specify your gift to a particular department or program – The Cancer Institute, Breast Center, Cardiology, Emergency Department, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Pediatrics, Community Health, Integrative Medicine – where ever you choose.

Please consider making as generous a gift as you can.

As medical care advances, your hospital is committed to staying at the cutting edge – for you, for your loved ones, for every person in the community.  Please help to make this possible with your contribution.

Your donation will make a world of difference.  I promise you.

Thank you so much for your help.

Sincerely,

Xx

President and Chief Executive Officer

Can you knock off parts of this letter? Tell me what you like about it and what would make it better! Leave a comment!