Sam­ple thank-you let­ters for you to swipe

Next to your fundrais­ing appeals, your thank-you let­ter is the most impor­tant com­mu­ni­ca­tion that a donor receives. So shouldn’t it sparkle with sincerity?

Written by
Lisa Sargent
Added
June 26, 2011
© Shotsstudio from Getty Images

Profit from Lisa’s thank-you letter clinic

See Lisa’s original Thank-you letter clinic here. Now, specially for SOFII, the talented Lisa has prepared an annotated, instructive series of ‘before’ and ‘after’ thank-you letters from around the world. Click here to review the first seven of these, from five countries – Ireland, UK, USA, Canada and Australia. With thanks to all SOFII users who sent in their thank-you letters for Lisa’s clinic.

Here are eight examples to help inspire you as you write your next one.

Example 1, from the Ontario Science Centre, Toronto, Canada.

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Example 2, from Menzies Research Institute, Tasmania, Australia.

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Example 3, from the ALS Society of Canada, a medical research and welfare charity.

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Example 4, from the Cancer Council of New South Wales, Australia.

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Example 5, from Dunwoody College of Technology, Minneapolis, USA.

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Example 6, from a UK-based conservation trust.

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Example 7, from a children’s care and welfare charity in Ireland.

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About the author: Lisa Sargent

Lisa Sargent

Lisa Sargent (she/her) is head of Sargent Communications. She helps non-profits raise more money and keep more donors through better donor communications. A creative strategist and copywriter, Lisa works exclusively with non-profits on direct mail, email fundraising and donor care communications – acquisition appeals, annual reports, proposals, welcome packages, newsletters, thank-you letters and more.

Lisa is a contributing author to acclaimed decision science book Change for Better and author of Thankology, on keeping your donors connected and giving through the power of gratitude (reviewed by SOFII’s Ken Burnett here). Lisa also publishes The Loyalty Letter, a free newsletter for non-profit and charitable organisations read by subscribers around the world. Lisa has contributed regularly contributed to SOFII over the years, including the wonderful thank you letter clinic, which you can read here.

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