This post is Part 3 in a series about donor centric approach in fundraising. Click here for Part 1, Part 2 and Part 4.

Continuing our conversation about the importance of donor centric language in our donor communication, you’ve just acquired a first-time donor or gotten a repeat gift from a past donor. Great! It’s time to say thank you.

The number one rule of receipting and thanking a donor is simply to DO IT. Not sending out a receipt is not a thrifty budget move. It’s plain rude. Someone gave you a gift, using money that he or she could have used on a million other things, or given away to many other worthy charities. But she chose you. That should make you grateful – and you should want your donor to know how thankful you are.

The second rule is that a donor needs to feel thanked, not just be thanked. In the first post of this series, we provided some traditional language from the opening of a thank you letter: “Thank you for your gift of $50. With your support, we are continuing our proven work to help end the growing epidemic of homelessness among single mothers in Metropolis.” OK, we said “thank you,” but does that leave the donor feeling thanked? Possibly not. It’s like the email confirmation you get when you place an order online; there’s really nothing that makes you want to order more stuff from the merchant. It’s really just an accounting function; we got your order and charged your credit card.

Instead, tell your donor what he or she made possible because of that gift. Why is the world just a tiny bit better today because of that $25 or $50? What’s one thing that the donor can feel proud of? Let’s face it – he or she didn’t really expect to end global warming or solve hunger with $25. But did anything get better?

“There’s a scientist who is researching global warming well into the night because you made sure there was funding for the laboratory.”

“A child will go to school tomorrow with a brand new backpack filled with school supplies – the first time that’s happened in her life! She may not know that you helped provide that backpack, but we know – and we are so grateful on her behalf.”

“A cup of soup and a sandwich. That’s how someone today pictures hope – and that’s what you made possible with your generous gift. Yes, you gave hope, and that’s a priceless gift.”

Are you not even sending out a receipt because it’s “just not worth it”? Maybe that’s because you aren’t talking to your donors in language that makes them fall in love all over again with what’s possible when they give. Instead, make sure your donor feels thanked – and that puts you on the road to another gift from an increasingly loyal donor.

Go further to Part 4 or read the two previous posts: Part 1 and Part 2.