Creating More Donor-Centered Thank You Letters_ One Nonprofit’s Success [Examples] _ Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
1. 4/19/2016 Creating More DonorCentered Thank You Letters: One Nonprofit’s Success [Examples] | Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2013/09/10/creatingmoredonorcenteredthankyoulettersonenonprofitssuccessexamples/ 1/4
Blog Home Nonpro•t Marketing Guide Home Meet Kivi All-Access Training Pass The Books Blogs I Read
J Merriman on left
Creating More Donor-Centered Thank You
Letters: One Nonpro t’s Success [Examples]
Posted By Kivi Leroux Miller on Sep 10, 2013 | 2 Comments
With so many nonprofits getting thank you letters wrong, writing a great
one that focuses on the donor and not your organization is a great
marketing and fundraising strategy. All-Access Pass Holder J Merriman
of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful shares how tweaking their thank you
letter got an immediate response. ~ Kivi
Guest Post by J Merriman of Keep Truckee Meadows
Beautiful
In 2014, Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful will celebrate 25 years of
cleanups and beautification projects in Northern Nevada. Our volunteer
projects are well-known and well-attended in the community, but in the
last year, we’ve really been trying to brand our disparate programs
(Truckee River Cleanup Day, Christmas Tree Recycling, etc.) and bring
them all under a KTMB umbrella of education, community alternatives
and economic development. With this approach, we are hoping to make
the cleanup aspect less necessary.
I started out in journalism 15 years ago, and the nonprofits I’ve worked for have been all over the map issue-wise.
My job at KTMB as communications manager is basically the same though: database, emails, social media, website,
speeches/presentations, blog, photo/videography and putting it all together for storytelling. KTMB is fun because I
also get to be outside a lot, planting or recycling trees and doing cleanups.
The Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinars have helped me in so many ways now that I’m part of such a small staff; I
feel like my experience and background give me so much and the webinars fill in all the necessary details. For
instance, I now have contact with our (completely engaged!) board, which is new (on both counts). The webinars
about working with and training boards have been invaluable.
But one webinar’s feedback was just so immediate, I had to share the results with Kivi and Kristina, and they asked
me to share with you too.
We don’t have a formal development department at KTMB (our staff is three people), so thank-you letters are now
part of my every Thursday. When I started a year ago, I knew the thank yous were industrial, and, as a
photographer, my solution was to add photos. But I kept the wording pretty much the same.
After taking Writing Thank You Letters That Inspire Future Gifts, I updated the letter more. We don’t have the money
to include actual photos or other add-ins, but we took a lot of before-and-after photos during our Great Cleanup in
May, and I thought they’d make for a powerful message: Here’s what you changed.
Instead of being generic, the letter now shows results, tells how the gift was/will be used, and is has more
personalized information about the gift itself – workplace giving, event donation, etc. Again, I had an idea we needed
to update, and Kivi’s webinar gave me a clear plan and fix-its.
And it worked! I sent out the June 27 thank-you letter to a former board member who gave on a state-wide donation
day (Nevada’s Big Give). When I checked the mail next, she’d sent the thank you letter back with a check enclosed,
and the amount was more than she’d originally sent!
We almost never get to see such immediate, positive results for our work, and it was so fun to run around the office
for a few minutes yelling “Thank You Letters That Inspire Future Gifts!” Usually the only excitement around our office
is an escaped cow looking in the window.
Get Blog Posts Daily and/or
Our Weekly E-Newsletter
First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
Get blog posts emailed to
you MondayFriday.
Get Kivi's Weekly Tips e
newsletter on Wednesdays.
Subscribe Now!
Or Grab the Feed Directly
Subscribe Here!
3. 4/19/2016 Creating More DonorCentered Thank You Letters: One Nonprofit’s Success [Examples] | Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2013/09/10/creatingmoredonorcenteredthankyoulettersonenonprofitssuccessexamples/ 3/4
Search This Blog
Search for:
Training and Advice Available at Amazon Available at Amazon
Share This Post On
June 2013 (with Photos and Text Revisions)
J started her career in journalism 15 years ago, but made the switch to nonprofits after realizing the larger scope for
storytelling and that people actually want to talk to you. For the last year, she’s been the communications manager
at Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful, the Keep America Beautiful Affiliate in Nevada.
Comments for this thread are now closed. ×
2 Comments Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog Login1
Share⤤ Sort by Best
•
Vanessa Chase • 3 years ago
What an amazing transformation of J's thank you letter! It's great that they chose to paint such a vivid picture and really emotionally engage
the letter's recipient.
△ ▽
•
J Merriman • 3 years ago> Vanessa Chase
Thanks, Vanessa! I'm going to have to come up with a new one soon; I think everyone's got this one now! :)
△ ▽
Subscribe✉ Add Disqus to your site Add Disqus Addd Privacyὑ
Recommend
Share ›
Share ›
Author: Kivi Leroux Miller
![4/19/2016 Creating More DonorCentered Thank You Letters: One Nonprofit’s Success [Examples] | Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2013/09/10/creatingmoredonorcenteredthankyoulettersonenonprofitssuccessexamples/ 1/4
Blog Home Nonpro•t Marketing Guide Home Meet Kivi All-Access Training Pass The Books Blogs I Read
J Merriman on left
Creating More Donor-Centered Thank You
Letters: One Nonpro t’s Success [Examples]
Posted By Kivi Leroux Miller on Sep 10, 2013 | 2 Comments
With so many nonprofits getting thank you letters wrong, writing a great
one that focuses on the donor and not your organization is a great
marketing and fundraising strategy. All-Access Pass Holder J Merriman
of Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful shares how tweaking their thank you
letter got an immediate response. ~ Kivi
Guest Post by J Merriman of Keep Truckee Meadows
Beautiful
In 2014, Keep Truckee Meadows Beautiful will celebrate 25 years of
cleanups and beautification projects in Northern Nevada. Our volunteer
projects are well-known and well-attended in the community, but in the
last year, we’ve really been trying to brand our disparate programs
(Truckee River Cleanup Day, Christmas Tree Recycling, etc.) and bring
them all under a KTMB umbrella of education, community alternatives
and economic development. With this approach, we are hoping to make
the cleanup aspect less necessary.
I started out in journalism 15 years ago, and the nonprofits I’ve worked for have been all over the map issue-wise.
My job at KTMB as communications manager is basically the same though: database, emails, social media, website,
speeches/presentations, blog, photo/videography and putting it all together for storytelling. KTMB is fun because I
also get to be outside a lot, planting or recycling trees and doing cleanups.
The Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinars have helped me in so many ways now that I’m part of such a small staff; I
feel like my experience and background give me so much and the webinars fill in all the necessary details. For
instance, I now have contact with our (completely engaged!) board, which is new (on both counts). The webinars
about working with and training boards have been invaluable.
But one webinar’s feedback was just so immediate, I had to share the results with Kivi and Kristina, and they asked
me to share with you too.
We don’t have a formal development department at KTMB (our staff is three people), so thank-you letters are now
part of my every Thursday. When I started a year ago, I knew the thank yous were industrial, and, as a
photographer, my solution was to add photos. But I kept the wording pretty much the same.
After taking Writing Thank You Letters That Inspire Future Gifts, I updated the letter more. We don’t have the money
to include actual photos or other add-ins, but we took a lot of before-and-after photos during our Great Cleanup in
May, and I thought they’d make for a powerful message: Here’s what you changed.
Instead of being generic, the letter now shows results, tells how the gift was/will be used, and is has more
personalized information about the gift itself – workplace giving, event donation, etc. Again, I had an idea we needed
to update, and Kivi’s webinar gave me a clear plan and fix-its.
And it worked! I sent out the June 27 thank-you letter to a former board member who gave on a state-wide donation
day (Nevada’s Big Give). When I checked the mail next, she’d sent the thank you letter back with a check enclosed,
and the amount was more than she’d originally sent!
We almost never get to see such immediate, positive results for our work, and it was so fun to run around the office
for a few minutes yelling “Thank You Letters That Inspire Future Gifts!” Usually the only excitement around our office
is an escaped cow looking in the window.
Get Blog Posts Daily and/or
Our Weekly E-Newsletter
First Name *
Last Name *
Email *
Get blog posts emailed to
you MondayFriday.
Get Kivi's Weekly Tips e
newsletter on Wednesdays.
Subscribe Now!
Or Grab the Feed Directly
Subscribe Here!](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/001f73c6-67b8-4cec-ab1a-4926b6a33c29-160615185432/85/creating-more-donorcentered-thank-you-letters-one-nonprofits-success-examples-kivis-nonprofit-communications-blog-1-320.jpg)
![4/19/2016 Creating More DonorCentered Thank You Letters: One Nonprofit’s Success [Examples] | Kivi's Nonprofit Communications Blog
http://www.nonprofitmarketingguide.com/blog/2013/09/10/creatingmoredonorcenteredthankyoulettersonenonprofitssuccessexamples/ 2/4
But that’s probably just our office.
Here are the letters:
October 2012 (BEFORE)
December 2012 (with Photos Added)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)