Farm Africa: a thank-you let­ter and gift

Exhibited by
SOFII
Added
May 23, 2010
Medium of Communication
Direct Mail.
Target Audience
Individuals.
Type of Charity
International relief/development, public/society benefit.
Country of Origin
UK.
Date of first appearance
2007.

SOFII’s view

This is just a very nice thank-you letter that is easy to copy, though perhaps it would be best not to do so directly, but rather to adapt the idea behind it in a way that’s distinctive, individual and personal to your cause.

Creator / originator

Michael Newsome of Farm Africa

Summary / objectives

Just to say ‘thank you’ nicely. Perhaps the most important and most under-estimated act of basic politeness in fundraising.

Background

Farm Africa simply wanted to use something relevant to thank individual donors in a personal and memorable way.

Special characteristics

Lovely three opening paragraphs. And of course the inclusion of a small sachet of Ethiopian coffee beans is a very nice touch.

Influence / impact

Encouraged at least one donor to think very highly of Farm Africa.

Costs

Small, relative to the benefit.

Results

Hard to measure but certainly good.

Merits

A memorable and very copy-able way to say thank you. Good coffee too.

View original image
The letter emerges from its packaging a bit crumpled because of the uncomfortable shape of the bag of beans with which it’s packed. But it's none the worst for that. In fact, it all looks rather exotic and interesting.