Unforgiveable Nonprofit Thank You Letter Mistakes

I recently received a prickly thank you letter that made my blood boil.

Not because it was so bad, but because it wasn’t good.

It didn’t make me want to renew my support.

And that’s unforgiveable.

Because the point of the first gift is to get a second one.

Otherwise, donor acquisition costs you more than you make. It’s simply not worth the effort unless you commit to donor retention.

And, when I say commit, I mean a written donor acknowledgement plan.

With everyone in your organization on board.

And it all starts with how you say “thank you.”

Thank You Letters Must Be Prompt

That means 48 hours when snail mailed and instantaneously when made online.

My gift to this charity was snail mailed in December of 2024. The thank you letter was received by me on March 17, 2025.

This thank you letter was LATE.

“Dear Claire, Thank you very much for your generous donation to [name of organization]. This gift enables [name of organization] to offer valuable programs such as [list of programs.]

On December 18, 2024, [name of organization] received your gift of $____. All or part of your gift may be tax deductible as a charitable contribution. Please check with your tax advisor. No goods or services were provided in return for your contribution.

[Blah, blah, blah…] and we look forward to seeing you at [name of organization] events in the coming year.”

My takeaway? 

I’m not sure I want to give to this charity again.

I’m thinking they’re inefficient. Call me harsh if you will. Yes, I do review thank you letters for a living. But I know how I feel. And other donors are likely to feel the same way. [See Donor’s Lament: You Didn’t Thank Me Properly].

Here are the problems:

1. The gift was made so long ago I don’t even remember giving to them.

Perversely, if they hadn’t sent a March letter at all, I might have renewed next year.

Sending it this late is worse than not sending it (unless it’s a very special thank you that makes me feel bonded to them and welcomed to their community; this was boiler plate.)

2. They wrote about what the gift enabled them to do, not what I did.

And they didn’t do it very well. There’s simply a list of program names, with no explanation of what they accomplish.  They’re no doubt familiar with them; I’m not.

A story about who is helped would have gone a long way towards drawing me in and making me feel good.

3. They wrote about tax deductibility, and talking with my advisor, after I’ve already filed my taxes.

Plus, it’s a waffling description that’s just confusing. It happens I made this from a donor advised fund. So, it’s absolutely not tax deductible because I took the deduction when I made the gift to my DAF.  I know this. They know this (or they should). But they said nothing.

“Our understanding is you’ve already received a tax deduction for this gift, and we confirm we provided no goods and services in return for your contribution” would have been preferred. And it would have best been included as small print at the bottom of the letter. Very few people itemize deductions since the Tax Act of 2017, and this is not the primary reason people give.

It’s housekeeping, rather than inspiring. And it’s bad timing.

4. They blow an opportunity to continue the engagement.

Rather than letting me know of specific upcoming activities, they simply allude to unnamed future events. This is not likely to get me to attend. Ideally, if they wanted to build trust, they would have let me know they’d be sending me a list next week of occasions for further involvement (e.g., free events; volunteer opportunities; advocacy initiatives, etc.). Then, when they followed through on this promise, I’d begin to trust them more.

Building trust is the foundation of all lasting relationships.

Thank You Letters Must Be Personal

One person writing to another person or people (if a couple or family made the gift).

This thank you letter from another charity was prompt enough (It was dated January 4, 2025, but I give a little grace for gifts made the last few days of the calendar year), but impersonal and cold. [The bold-faced words are theirs – for no apparent reason I can discern.]

“Dear Claire Axelrad and [my husband’s first and last name]: Thank you for your gift dated December 27, 2024 in the amount of $_____ from the [name] Donor Advised Fund. We are writing to acknowledge we received your gift through your donor advised fund. We appreciate your generous and thoughtful gift.

We further warrant that no goods or services of any value were or will be transferred to you in connection with this gift.

This letter of acknowledgement is provided as a courtesy to confirm receipt of donation. [Name of organization’s] tax ID number is _______. PLEASE NOTE: If your donation is made by check from a donor advised fund or an individual retirement account, please direct donation to [Name of organization’s] main headquarters. The mailing address is: _____________________________. Please reference your membership number found below.

My takeaway?

Honestly, I started laughing (and not in a good way). The language was so confusing, and so “corporate speak,” I couldn’t take it seriously. Nobody talks like this!

Here are the problems:

1. To appear personal, use an informal salutation.

Don’t use last names; that sounds robotic. The only exceptions are: (1) Donor asked you to address them formally; (2) Donor is a member of the clergy; (3) Donor is an elected representative or judge; (4) Donor is a member of the military.

2. Great thank you’s don’t lead with the amount of money given.

Great thank you’s lead with the gift’s impact. “Because you care, our community will continue to foster understanding and build bridges across differences” would be a better opener. It reminds me what I was thinking when I made the gift, and reinforces the “feel good” shot of dopamine I would have received at that time. If you want people to give again, it’s your job to reinforce the joy of giving multiple times throughout the year.

3. Redundant isn’t warm and fuzzy.

Do you notice how the first two sentences say pretty much the same thing? This looks sloppy, making me wonder what else they’re sloppy at.

4. “We warrant” sounds like something for a legal document or receipt.

This is not donor thank you language.

5. “This letter of acknowledgment is provided as a courtesy” sounds like it was work they resented; a chore.

It does not sound like it’s their pleasure to write. Or that they’re particularly grateful. Would you ever send a thank you to your Grandma saying “This letter of acknowledgment is provided as a courtesy in return for your having given me a birthday present?”

6. They wrote about where I should mail my gift, after they’ve acknowledged they already received my gift.

Huh? Also they suggest I can give from a DAF or IRA, after noting they received it from my DAF.  What? Talk about boiler plate. And sounding stupid.

7. They highlight referencing my membership number.

Note, I understand they have a membership organization. However, I did not give in response to a membership appeal.  I gave a pure donation.  So, this is both confusing and annoying.

Don’t Make Unforgivable Mistakes

When you do, you both short-change the donor and your mission. The donor feels bad, and your mission suffers because the lifetime value of donors who are poorly treated is truncated.

The average nonprofit is losing roughly 57% of its donors each year. For first-time donors, retention has fallen to just 13.8%.

A form letter or receipt isn’t sufficient.

Almost 10 years ago I was gob smacked by an Abila Donor Engagement Study finding 21% of donors said they were never thanked for their gift! My guess is some of these 21% – a full fifth of all donors — technically were thanked, but what they received was so perfunctory, boring and/or something that sounded like another fundraising letter (i.e., “Thank you and (but) the need is still so great… we hope to serve X thousand clients this year… we have X hundred on a waiting list… yada, yada, yada”) that they tossed it without even reading it.

You must find ways to explain the difference the donor has made, and to reassure them over time their gift had a meaningful impact.

Donor-centered thank you letters are not just a nicety. 

They’re the critical first step to getting the next gift.

Want to Learn More about What Makes a Great Thank You?

Grab the Attitude of Gratitude Donor Guide + Creative Ways to Thank Your Donors. It includes everything I’ve learned over the years, all tucked it into one handy non-nonsense Guide on the practice of gratitude.

106 full pages, with lots of ready-to-use samples and templates. And it includes Creative Ways to Thank Your Donors— with 72 ideas for you to steal!

If you’re not happy with it for any reason, all Clairification products come with a no-questions-asked, 30-day, 100% refund guarantee.