Your donors made the decision to contribute their hard-earned money to your cause because they believe in it and want to support your organization. But this doesn’t mean they don’t like to be thanked for their contributions! 

Showing your donors that you appreciate their support and that your work depends on their continued involvement is crucial for the long-term success of your organization. When fundraising in person, it is often much easier to express your gratitude genuinely and effectively. However, virtual fundraising is different. When you never meet a donor face-to-face, it gets a little more complicated. 

Over the last year and a half, we’ve all become familiar with the online world and how it can feel impersonal, even when it’s bringing us together. Knowing this, you’ll have to work a little harder to make sure your online donors are feeling the warmth as much as your in-person donors have in the past. 

In this article, we’re highlighting three tips to help you more effectively thank your online donors:

• Set Up Instant Thank You Messages
• Offer a Streamlined Giving Experience
• Send Personalized Thank You’s
• Post Social Media Shoutouts

If you’re ready to take your donor appreciation to the next level, keep reading to learn more about how you can implement these strategies. 

Set Up Instant Thank You Messages

The online donation process is an important part of conveying your image and values to your supporters. Creating a smooth, simple process that doesn’t present any frustrating roadblocks is crucial. 

In that same vein, you want to make sure your donor leaves your website already feeling appreciated for the donation they just made. With the right software, you can set up automatic thank you messages that appear after donors click the “submit” button on your giving page. 

Here are a few things you might consider including in your thank you message:

• Your donor’s name. With the right software, your donor’s name can automatically be filled in to give the message a more personal touch. 
• Testimonials that show the impact of donations. If you already have these types of case studies on your site, consider linking them in your thank you message for donors to explore. 
• Links to other ways to get involved. Your donor may not be aware of volunteer opportunities. Adding in a link can encourage them to continue their involvement with your organization.
• A social media share button. Allow your donors to share about their donation directly with their friends. Include multiple options like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more. 

These instant and automated messages should only be a first step in thanking your donors. However, they do help leave your donor with a positive impression when they leave your site. 

Offer a Streamlined Giving Experience

Offering donors a positive experience on your donation page shows that you care about their time and want to provide them with a positive donation experience, no matter how much they're giving or what device they're using.

As you build your form and add in a thank you message, here are a few donation form best practices to keep in mind:

• Keep it short and simple. Don’t overwhelm your donors with too many questions. If you want to gather more information but not deter donors who are short on time, give donors the option to make an account when donating. Those who want to give more information can, while others can still donate without an account. 
• Show suggested donation amounts. This can help your donor easily make a decision by seeing what other people typically give. Donation suggestions can also sometimes lead to a larger donation!
• Offer an option to make their gift recurring. It’s quite possible that your donor has not thought of making their donation recurring. Give them the option to make their gift recurring by simply checking a box. 

Keeping your donor in mind as you create your donation form and finishing it by thanking them will leave them feeling confident in their decision to support your organization. 

Send Personalized Thank You’s

Displaying an automated thank you message immediately after donors contribute is a great starting point, but it shouldn’t be the only way you thank your donors! 

Even though your supporter donated online, direct mail can still be a very effective way to communicate with them. A paper letter (especially with an actual signature!) maintains that special personal touch that email cannot replicate. Supporters also do not always open all of the emails they receive, especially if their inboxes are already cluttered. Thanks to the decrease in direct mail, a thank you letter in your supporters’ mailbox is more likely to be read thoroughly than an email. 

Whether you opt for email or physical letters, make to follow these best practices when crafting your thank you letters: 

• Be as personal as you can. No matter the size of your organization, it’s important to include your donor’s name and any other relevant details in your letter. Mention their donation amount and the specific campaign they contributed to. You can even mention their donation history if they are repeat donors! 
• Handwrite if possible. For large organizations with many donors, this may not be possible. However, if you have the time and resources to do so, handwriting your thank you notes is an excellent way to make donors feel special. A handwritten letter shows donors how much time and thought you’ve put into thanking them. 
• Always include a signature. Even if you don’t have the time to handwrite every letter you send to a donor, you should still make an effort to include a signature and the name of a specific person at your organization. It can feel impersonal to get a letter from “big name organization” in comparison with a letter from “John Doe, CEO.” 
• Be prompt! Whether you send an email, a handwritten letter, a text, or any other form of thank you, make sure you are timely! Allowing too much time to pass between a donation and a thank you signals that thanking your donor was not that high on your to-do list. 

Everyone appreciates a handwritten letter, but if that’s not your organization’s style, there are lots of other ways to personalize your communications with your donors. From email to social media and even text messages, you can meet donors where they are and send thank-you messages using their preferred communication platforms. 

Post Social Media Shoutouts

It is not usually possible to thank every donor on social media. It would be too time-consuming and likely overwhelm your followers. However, you can highlight long-time donors or donors who have made a larger online donation using social media posts. 

Use the unique features of each social media platform to shout out your supporters. Here are a few platforms you might use: 

• Facebook. You can create timeline posts or stories with a graphic that mentions your donors. You could also go live to thank your donors verbally! 
• Instagram. You can create similar posts to Facebook on Instagram, but they will be more image-focused. Create an eye-catching graphic or collage to highlight your supporters! 
• Twitter. You won’t be able to highlight many donors in one Twitter post because of the character limit. But sending out a tweet with a “big thank you” to a major donor with an anecdote about how their donation helps is a great way to highlight them while encouraging other donations.

The best part of posting social media shoutouts is that it offers an organic opportunity for you to use native app features like Instagram’s donation sticker. Using these features can encourage others to donate and perhaps get their own social media shoutout. 

On Twitter, you could ask people to reply or quote your tweet with an explanation of why they donated. Similarly, on Instagram, you can save your shoutouts to “highlights” on your profile to make a social media-based donor recognition wall. You can build your own virtual testimonial page right on your social media pages! 

Because donors are the lifeblood of your organization, thanking them should always be a priority. 

One of the best ways to make sure that your donors feel important is by showing them how their donation makes an impact. Take the time to say thank you promptly and share stories with your donors about the work your organization is doing that their donations make possible. 

Good donor appreciation practices will increase supporters’ loyalty to your organization and can encourage them to consider making recurring monthly donations. Don’t miss out on the benefits of a loyal donor base by skipping this easy step of simply saying thank you, sincerely and frequently. 

About the Author

Jacob Spencer

As Customer Success/Account Manager at Donately, "I strive to make every step of our customer journey as enjoyable as possible. My goal is to turn everyone that trusts Donately into a raving fan! Raising funds can be daunting, but we know that with the right tools, it can and should be easy.

Throughout my career, I've been able to help sales and success teams tackle new markets, grow and expand. Leading with empathy, listening to actually solve problems, and remembering that we are all human are the key elements to growing any business in a meaningful way.

When I'm not working you can find me spending time with my wife, 2 boys and our Border Collie, Abbie. Family>Everything."