Imagine yourself in this picture.
You receive a fundraising appeal. Your heart is touched.
With emotion, kindness, and care, you make a donation to help.
Not long after – in your mailbox or your inbox – a message appears.
You open the letter or email with a sense of anticipation. Remembering that warm glow of giving. Happy to hear back. Wondering how things are turning out.
And the first words you read are:
On behalf of the President and Board of Directors, we write to acknowledge your donation of blah-blah-blah to XYZ Charity, received on [date]...
Deflated, sad sigh.
The letter is just... a transaction receipt.
There’s no warmth. No glow. No spirit of gratitude. No personal feel.
But what IF?
What if your nonprofit’s thank-you letter did something completely different?
What if the start of your thank-you letter led with love?
By that I mean using those first sentences of your letter or email – known as the lead (lede) – to set a different tone for your entire acknowledgment.
NOT “On behalf of the Board of Directors.”
NOT transactional jargon.
NOT a lifeless receipt.
Something like these leads instead:
OR how about opening your thank-you with a story lead like this?
Half a world away, a boy and a veterinarian huddle together at the roadside. They don’t even speak a common language. But today they work side by side, barely a breath apart. Why?
They are here to save the little boy’s dog. And all thanks to you.
After your lead, you’ll still add all the details about the gift and other essentials, of course. The details I call T-H-A-N-K-U in my book Thankology.
But right now, today, how much better would your supporters feel to open a thank-you letter that led with love?
Well, when they start to send letters back in return thanking you for their wonderful thank-you (and they will, mark my words, often with an extra gift tucked inside), you’ll have your answer.
Lead with love.
It’s the best, most generous way to thank all your generous hearts who give.
Specializing in donor retention communications, Lisa Sargent is an international fundraising copywriter with an almost 20-year track record, who is dedicated to helping nonprofits and charitable organizations get and keep more donors. She is also a nerd-level direct response donor communications specialist dedicated to helping passionate nonprofits get from where they are to where they want to be, through the world-changing results of individual giving and donor stewardship communications done right.
Order “Thankology—How to keep your donors longer, and giving stronger, through gratitude” and subscribe to Lisa's free fundraising writing newsletter, The Loyalty Letter.
