It read..
Dear Rachel,
I was so touched by your generous
donation of £25. Fundraising has become even harder. I find myself working late
into the night seven days a week just trying to generate resources for our
kids. So when donations like yours arrive believe me I bounce off the ceiling
with delight!
(This is a letter to me, sent from a person. Not from an organisation, but from an individual. It shows passion for
the charity and makes me feel that I have really done something extraordinary.)
Your help means so much to all of
us who work at Kids Company, because we become a witness to your kindness but
also to the positive impact it has on the children’s lives.
(Wow – these are people that are
passionate about their cause and will steward and use my money wisely.)
We’ve just opened our exhibition
at the Royal Academy, Childhood, so I’m hoping we can encourage more of the public
to donate.
(This is timely information – they must have updated their thank you letter recently.)
One of the girls exhibiting was
living on the streets since the age of 12 having run away from home where she
was being sexually abused. When she arrived at Kids Company she was so
undernourished, looking like a 12 year old, despite being 17. She hadn’t been
to school since she was 10 but we found she wrote amazing poetry so we sent her
to Goldsmiths University for an interview and they’ve offered her an
unconditional place on the creative writing degree course. Before our eyes has
emerged a young girl who is glowing and full of hope for the future.
(What a wonderful story. I feel
proud to support this charity and want to give more to their work.)
It’s for children like her that
your unique support is precious and powerful. Thank you for kindness that
touches the heart.
With love and best wishes,
(Not yours sincerely or some
other stuffy sign off. I am now part of this charity’s family.)
Camila Batmanghelidjh
Chief Executive
(with hand-signed signature)
So what do you think? Would your
organisation’s thank you letter stand up against this? I know that this is a
mail merged letter – but it is still brilliant, personal and touching. I want
to give again.
Does your thank you letter:
1. Come from a person, not an organisation
2. Demonstrate the passion of your work
3. Make the donor feel that they have
genuinely made a difference
4. Include timely information
5. Talk about you and your, not we and our
6. Say thank you more than once
7. Arrive hand-signed
8. Make the donor feel proud to have given
As we have
talked about before, donors are the most precious resource a charity can have. Just
in saying thank you well, this charity has made me feel like a critical part of
their mission.
Now we must make
our donors feel the same way.
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Have a thank you letter that you think is brilliant? I'd love to hear. Comment below or contact me on twitter at @brownrach
Rachel
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