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Donation Thank You Letters

Writer Estela Kennen, Isaac Kennen

Posted by
Estela Kennen
Mar 23, 2007

It is always a good idea to send a thank you letter (or, for smaller donations, at least a thank you form or receipt) for any donation your organization receives. Thank you letters to donors serve two important purposes:

They acknowledge the donor’s contribution and help cultivate a relationship, making it more likely for the individual to donate again
They serve as proof of the donation for income tax purposes (and are a must for donations over $250 dollars)

You can use the sample thank you letters below as a starting point. Print the thank you on official organizational letterhead. If the donation was items and not money, briefly describe the items received and the estimated fair market value, if known.

Sample long thank you letter

Dear ____________________,

On behalf of [organization name], I would like to thank you for your generous donation of $_______. Your contribution makes it possible for us to [state purpose].

Since its inception in [date organization started], [org. name] has [briefly state highlights]. In [part or current year] we have [briefly describe growth or goals achieved]. This is only possible because of thoughtful contributions from people like you.

In [current or coming year], we plan to [briefly state continued efforts or expected growth]. As you know, the cost of [brief description of what organization does] does not go away. We hope for your continued support in the future.

No goods or services of any value were or will be transferred to you in connection with this donation. (OR) The estimated value of goods or services provided in return for your donation were $_____. Please keep this written acknowledgment of your donation for your tax records.

Once again thank you for your generous donation.

Sincerely,

Signature

Name

Title

Organization

Sample short thank you postcard or receipt

Thank you for your generous donation of $_______. People like you make it possible for us to continue to [organization’s purpose].

No goods or services of any value were or will be transferred to you in connection with this donation. (OR) The estimated value of goods or services provided in return for your donation were $_____.

Please keep this written acknowledgment of your donation for your tax records.

Comments

Nov 26, 2008 12:24 PM

Guest :

great help! thanks

Dec 4, 2008 8:25 AM

Guest :

this was very helpful....i used some ideas in order to get a good base for my non-profit agency's "thank you" letters.

Dec 5, 2008 5:58 PM

Guest :

Nice letter. Thanks for the help.

Jan 22, 2009 3:36 AM

Guest :

This is a great letter to inspire the donors.
Thanks for help us who weak in English Writing.
Akif Ali Atif

Feb 12, 2009 1:25 PM

Guest :

Thank you! Just what I needed!

Feb 24, 2009 10:22 AM

Guest :

Very helpful. I was "stuck" using the same language and was good to look at someone else's. Thanks

Mar 9, 2009 5:14 PM

Guest :

This is what I needed to get me started. Thanks so much for your help.

Mar 16, 2009 12:25 AM

Guest :

will you plz make a sample thank you letter from a "solicitation"..thanks

Mar 16, 2009 10:38 AM

Guest :

I wasn't sure how to word what I wanted to say. This is just the help I was looking for to get me started. Thanks so much!

Mar 18, 2009 5:42 AM

Guest :

This was wonderful it really helped me!!!

Mar 18, 2009 5:44 AM

Guest :

Thanks!

Mar 19, 2009 8:55 AM

Guest :

THANKKKS!

Apr 16, 2009 3:19 AM

Guest :

thanks for your letter it helped a lot yasir from fiji islands

Apr 16, 2009 7:03 AM

Guest :

Great source of help

Apr 20, 2009 10:25 AM

Guest :

Very helpful.

Apr 23, 2009 7:58 AM

Guest :

Thanks a million, this was a great help.

May 6, 2009 12:15 PM

Guest :

Great Stuff - Thank you so much. As the President of a small non-profit this answers some of my questions.

Jun 16, 2009 10:52 AM

Guest :

Excellent letters! Thanks.

Jun 17, 2009 12:29 PM

Guest :

Very Helpful, thanks so much for providing this information.

Jun 23, 2009 10:07 AM

Guest :

very helpful, thank you for the great article :)

Jun 27, 2009 6:25 PM

Guest :

Excellent template, mil gracias.

Jul 24, 2009 9:34 AM

Guest :

This is a great post -- thanks for such a well-composed sample of the thank you letter. Two + years after you wrote it, it's still helping others!

Aug 10, 2009 8:53 AM

Guest :

you saved my live! lol this was great help!!
thanks! :)

Aug 11, 2009 2:10 PM

Guest :

Thank you so very much this letter was very helpful.

Aug 17, 2009 1:52 AM

Guest :

Was of Great Help! Thanks

Aug 26, 2009 7:59 PM

Guest :

Thanks, this help me out alot.

Aug 29, 2009 12:41 PM

Guest :

This was very helpful, Thank you!

Sep 1, 2009 8:33 PM

Guest :

thank you so much! you just saved me from writing a very stupid thank you letter to my donors lol

Sep 4, 2009 10:12 AM

Guest :

The one thing I would say is that this letter focuses a lot on the organization and the gift, but not much on the giver. It also has the feel of a standard thank you letter. Let's remember, givers do not pass on money to us so we can turn around and do great things; givers are doing great things with us through their gifts. Let's make that clear in a "thank you" and celebrate that.
The postcard - "People like you make it possibe for us..." It shouldn't be an us/them mentaility; it should be an us together mentality. Just a few thoughts...

Sep 4, 2009 10:51 AM

Estela Kennen :

Dear Sept. 4,
Thank you for your fantastic comments. Unfortunately, there is often a disconnect between people and the "mailing list" organizations they belong to, and it often truly is you/us. But, instilling the feeling that this is something WE are doing together (the donor being part of the organization) is clearly the best thing to do, and should be encouraged through the organization's words and deeds whenever possible. Thank you for reminding me of that.

Sep 5, 2009 11:29 AM

Guest :

thanx this is very helpful

Sep 9, 2009 5:00 PM

Guest :

Thanks for the help. It's a nice sample. Hope to see another sample that focuses on how we would acknowledge an individual who really made an extra effort to give something to the organization. Thanks again!!!!

Sep 9, 2009 6:04 PM

Guest :

very great help thank you very much
sincerely Joe jonas

Sep 30, 2009 5:57 PM

Guest :

This was SO helpful! Thank you very much :)

Oct 4, 2009 5:31 PM

Guest :

thanks for this sample letter. it helped me a lot in drafting a thank you letter to the donors for the victims of typhoon ondoy in the philippines.

Oct 9, 2009 12:03 AM

Guest :

Thanks a lot, this site is vevy helpful

Oct 14, 2009 11:41 AM

Guest :

very useful. use it in a thank you letter. M

Oct 21, 2009 8:36 AM

Guest :

This was really helpful.Thanks

Oct 29, 2009 3:32 PM

Guest :

Thank you very much! This was very helpful. Great help....

Nov 3, 2009 1:35 PM

Guest :

Smart AND good looking! :-)

Nov 3, 2009 2:35 PM

Estela Kennen :

Flattery will literally get you nowhere, but thank you nonetheless. ;)

Nov 16, 2009 4:44 PM

Guest :

What if they did not give you any money and you want to make them feel bad and want to give them money. so there. served

Nov 23, 2009 8:12 PM

Guest :

Just what i was looking for? Do you have templates for acknowleadgement letters for non-tax deductable.

43 Comments

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