Thanking Major and Monthly Donors with a Personal Touch

Thanking major donors and monthly donors is one of the most important things you can do for nonprofit fundraising. Yet it’s also an activity that too many nonprofits struggle to find time for. 

Major donors and monthly donors are the lifeblood of sustainable nonprofit fundraising.

But many nonprofit organizations are so small, scrappy, and lacking in capacity that they aren’t thanking their donors other than an auto-generated donation receipt from their donation software. (If this sounds like your organization, you’re not alone!)

Gratitude is one of the most powerful human emotions. 

It’s also an essential part of building and cultivating relationships with individual donors. To keep your donors connected and ensure they feel appreciated, nonprofits need to say “thank you” in a way that is personalized and meaningful. 

In this article, we’re going to dig into what exactly a “personalized thank you” means, how to show gratitude beyond a single thank you note, and how to keep donors connected to your work long-term. 

Why Major and Monthly Donor Acknowledgment Is Unique

All donors should be treated with equal respect, but major donors have made a bigger gift and keep your organization working. The size of their gift is a signal about their ability and interest in helping. The way you treat them should be appropriate and significant.

Your organization can have its own definition of “major donor,” but for this article, let's say that anyone who cumulatively gives $1,000 or more in a fiscal year is a major donor. 

There are likely many major donors hiding in your low-level donor list, especially among monthly donors—which is why it’s also important to appropriately thank these core supporters of your mission and give them the chance to contribute more. 

Below we’ll look at creative ways to do this. But first, I want to unequivocally state that rich and powerful people, or even just major donors, are not better than anyone else, and they hopefully won’t try to hold their gifts over your head to try to control the organization. 

Every donor to your organization is valuable. But because most organizations do not have the capacity to do all the techniques below, I am recommending them for major and monthly donors. 

4 Personalized Ways to Thank Major Donors and Monthly Donors

The key to thanking major donors and monthly donors is making the acknowledgment feel personal without it being highly burdensome for your staff. 

I’ve selected my top four recommendations for this article. But if you need ideas for naming your monthly donor or major donor program, read this. You can also check out my BIG list of donor perks and ways to show appreciation. 

Create a Personalized Thank You Video for Donors

I gave a woman (a stranger) $50 once on Kickstarter so she could make her dream come true—producing her first album in a studio. Four months later, I got a personalized video from her emailed to me. I opened her email, clicked on the video link and saw her sitting on a chair, facing the camera, and recording a full-throated and all-smiles thank you. 

“Sean, your gift helped my dream come true.” The video was less than three minutes, but she had me at the three-second mark. I will never forget this gesture, and I wasn’t even a major donor.

She said my name, she recorded this just for me (she probably did 50 back-to-back), and although it was months later, I didn’t begrudge her. I was delighted. I am stil talking about that thank you to this day. 

My recommendation is that your nonprofit’s executive director or board chair block out an hour every other week to record personal thank you messages for 1) major donors after every gift, 2) new monthly donors upon their first gift and annually, and 3) new donors of any size if you can. Your donor retention rates should improve

Personalize Thank You Letters to Donors

Personalizing thank you letters can help you boost donor loyalty and increase repeat donations without spending extra money. 

There is data to show that thanking donors is important. If you don’t thank donors, they are very likely to remember this negatively.

It isn’t totally clear how valuable automated thank you emails and letters are. But when you personalize and customize the letters, there is a chance you’ll break through and build donor loyalty

If you have the time, your board and volunteers (or a paid firm) can personalize emails with a mail merge program. Mail merge programs allow you to email larger lists of people while customizing specific sections, like the recipient's name, gift amount, and the campaign they contributed to. 

You can also personalize thank you letters by writing or typing each letter manually, instead of using a mail merge. This is more time-consuming, but because so few people are doing it, you’re likely to stand out in a good way.

Another way to manually thank donors is to hand-write a card or letter, or at least include a handwritten note at the bottom of a standard thank-you letter. I don’t have proof of this, but I am 100% certain that personalized handwritten notes are remembered and appreciated. 

Using AI to Spruce Up Your Thank You Letters 

One great way to use AI in nonprofits is for crafting more specific and customized thank you letters. Because, let’s be honest, most nonprofits don’t spend the time they should investing in high-quality and engaging acknowledgments. 

To get you started, here is a video of my prompting Google’s Gemini for a personalized thank you letter: 

Here is the text that Gemini suggested. You can see that it provides opportunities for you to insert your own specifics for the donor.

Dear [Donor Name],

On behalf of [Your Organization's Name], I am writing to express our deepest gratitude for your generous gift of [Donation Amount]. Your commitment to environmental conservation is truly inspiring, and we are so grateful to have you as a partner in our mission.

Your support will make a significant difference in our efforts to [Specific Project or Initiative - e.g., "restore the endangered coastal wetlands," or "protect the Amazon rainforest from deforestation," or "educate local communities about sustainable farming practices"].

For example, because of your generosity, we will be able to [Specific Goal - e.g., "plant 5,000 native mangrove seedlings, which will revitalize crucial habitat for endangered species like the West Indian manatee and the Key deer," or "fund our rapid response team to combat illegal logging activities in the region," or "provide training and resources to 20 farming families, enabling them to adopt sustainable methods that reduce their environmental impact and increase their yields"].

In addition, your gift will help us to [Specific Goal - e.g., "monitor water quality in the affected area for the next five years, ensuring the long-term health of this vital ecosystem," or "expand our community outreach program to educate local children about the importance of biodiversity," or "establish a micro-loan program to help farmers invest in sustainable infrastructure, such as solar-powered irrigation systems"].

Your belief in our work empowers us to [Mission - e.g., "continue our vital research," or "expand our on-the-ground conservation efforts," or "advocate for stronger environmental policies"]. We are committed to being good stewards of your investment, and we will keep you updated on the progress of our work and the impact your gift is making.

Thank you again for your extraordinary generosity and dedication to protecting our planet. Together, we are making a real difference for the future of our environment.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

[Your Title]

[Your Organization's Name]

[Your Organization's Contact Information]

Create Personal Contact Lists for Major and Monthly Donors

This is a tip I started using in 2009. Donors like to feel special. They like to feel like they are making a difference and that their gift is needed. Major and monthly donors can get that VIP feeling by simply being treated to information sooner or in an exclusive way. 

While talking to a prospective donor, or program officer at a foundation, or an existing major donor, I will say, “I am building a small exclusive list of 20-40 folks who are vital to this organization and whose opinions I really value. Can I add you to that list? I’ll only send very brief updates less than every 60 days. This information will not be in our newsletter. May I add you?”

Every single person says yes. These little emails don’t replace the relationship building that I do during the year, but they are an added VIP touch.

Share Exclusive Updates With Major and Monthly Donors

I believe all your supporters should know about your challenges and success but they don’t all need to know the intricacies of your work. Mass emailing all your donors about “inside baseball” strategy to reach your mission may not be wise. 

Instead, share that insider information with a cultivated list. Private briefings, small-list updates, and individual phone calls can be powerful ways to keep donors close. 

Involved donors, particularly major donors, often love hearing the inside scoop on your work. Did you have high-level sensitive conversations with reporters or lobbyists about something important? Did Mackenzie Scott vet your organization for a gift? Is there a mini-scandal brewing in the offices of an organization working against your organization? This is juicy stuff that you can share in special, targeted updates. 

Private briefings can also be great tools. For example, when I was running the Tyler Clementi Foundation, we rebranded and unveiled a new logo. We wanted our major donors to see the logo first and hear the story behind it.

Most people who were invited to our private event came and appreciated getting the information sooner, especially about something so important. After the private briefing, we then released our logo and announcement publicly. 

If you are old school like me, phone calls to major donors to say hi and give updates can also be a wonderful touch. The executive director of the organization to which I donate the most money every year, Vallecitos Mountain Retreat Center, calls me regularly throughout the year and never asks for money on those calls. Many donors appreciate old-school outreach by phone! 

Conclusion: Get personal when thanking major and monthly donors

Gaining a major donor can make you feel like you won the day, but losing a major donor can make you question if you did all you could to keep them involved. The very first step? Thanking these core donors in a way that feels personal and meaningful. 

For more tips on getting major donor gifts see my Major Gifts Master Class and Anatomy of an Ask.