Your charity thanks your donors for giving, right? Of course you do! However, have you thought of differentiating thank-you letters for first-time donors? 20-year donors? In memoriam donors? Monthly donors? How about second-time donors?

The second‑time donation thank‑you letter

You might be wondering why a second donation to your nonprofit warrants a special thank-you.

Well.

Short of a bequest, the second gift is an occasion that tops just about all other occasions in the life of a donor—and should be acknowledged as such. In other words, it’s one of those “hidden” donor moments and a powerful one, to boot.

How momentous of an occasion is the second gift, really?

The average retention rate of a first-time donor, as you know, hovers around 20%. This rate is so dismal that many fundraising experts don’t consider these still-fickle friends as donors. They may simply be “impulse givers.”

This isn’t to diminish the grace and generosity behind a first donation. But rather, to reinforce that a second gift isn’t a sure thing.

Once you’ve proven to your new donor that your organization is worthy of their continued generosity and they move from impulse giver to make that second donation their retention rate increases to 60%.

60%, thankologists! Isn’t that amazing? And more good news: Your second‑gift thank‑you doesn’t have to be fancy. Just be genuine and warm, and acknowledge what you know.

To show you how simple a second-gift thank-you letter can be, here’s an excerpt from an oldie but goody second-gift TY I wrote years ago:

Dear <<Salutation>>,

Here at MQI, we were incredibly grateful to receive your first gift.

Then to receive a second donation from you of AMOUNT so people who are homeless and hungry in Ireland can continue to turn to Merchants Quay for help and hope—your generosity reaches far beyond words.

Thank you.

Just as your first donation did, the kindness of your second gift will be felt in the hot meals, one-to-one counselling, basic medical care, recovery from addiction and so much more that MQI are now able to provide thanks to you.

But deeper than that, I wish you could see what your ongoing support means to the women and men who come through our doors. The relief on their faces as they realize that here, they are safe. Here, they are not invisible. Here, their lives can change.

Here, because of you.

This letter then goes on to tick off more essential building blocks that you now know... the P.S., the invitation, the inclusion of a phone number donors can use if they have questions... and the like.

Also, all of these letters are hand-signed by the CEO.

At time of this writing, retention at MQI hovered around 70%. (Yes, 70%. That’s with an active acquisition program too—so in other words, not a stagnating file.) Sweet? You bet.

But when it comes to truly spectacular donor retention rates, there’s one group of supporters who pretty much have everyone beat.
You and I will explore how to thank these miracle-makers, next….

In her book "Thankology," Lisa Sargent boils down a lifetime of experience as nonprofit writer to offer instantly actionable advice on how to properly thank donors so they feel appreciated and joyful, knowing the impact they have on their favourite causes. Curious about how you can thank you donors in creative ways to increase your own retention and response rate? Click here to buy Thankology today.