Ops Insights #097 - Stop Starting Thank You Letters with Thank You
September 22, 2026 | Read Time: 3 minutes | Written by Jenny Kleintop
Let's talk about thank you letters. Those acknowlegement/receipt combo letters that we send to thank donors for their gifts. The moment they put that donation in the mail or clicked online to give, they made a choice. A choice to support your nonprofit, to support your mission, to support the people you serve.
Then they open that thank you, and the first sentence they read is the same as all the other thank you letters they receive, thank you for your gift. 100% of thank you letters I’ve read over the last 6 months started with thank you for your gift. Then after the first sentence, they all sounded generic and similar. More transactional-receipt feel. None got me excited, and I wondered why.
Why can’t we make the donor feel like their gift really, truly mattered?
Why can’t we make it a more donor-centric warm feel?
“More than 80% of nonprofit thank-you letters begin with some variation of ‘Thank you for your generous gift…’” Source: Penelope Burk, Donor-Centered Fundraising / Cygnus Applied Research.
Here is the first sentence of 5 of the thank you letters:
On behalf of everyone at [nonprofit], thank you for your generous gift of $115.49, received on X.
Thank you for your generous contribution to [nonprofit].
Thank you for your gift of $150 that we received on X.
Thank you for your generous gift of $40.59 to [nonprofit] in honor of X.
On behalf of [nonprofit] , thank you for your generous contribution of $200 to support the Mental Health initiatives.
Re-read those again. How did those make you feel?
Look at it this way: Your donor already gave. Your thank you letter does not need to start by telling them what they did. Rather, start by telling them what they made possible.
Because of your generosity, children and families across your city are finding hope, healing, and the support they need to thrive.
Your support helps provide exceptional services that empower people with special needs and their families.
Your thoughtful gift is already opening doors for young people like Keesha, who strength, resilience, and determination continue to defy expectations.
Your gift will directly help an adult in a program designed to give them a fresh start after a terrible loss. Thank you for helping them get back on their feet.
Your gift plays an essential role in advancing the health and well-being of a patient in our care, specifically to ensure they get the help they need to get better.
5 Tips:
Start with why their gift mattered, as in what their donation made possible.
Don’t be generic or state big claims that are likely not possible by only their donation.
Move the receipt language, you know what you have to say per IRS, to the bottom after the signature or as another separate page altogether.
Circle all the I/we/our in red and the you/your in green. Make sure you have way more green.
Keep it to one page and at least 14-point font. If you have to make the font smaller, it’s too long of a letter.
Remember the donor made a choice, they picked you, and now you have an opportunity to show them why that donation mattered.
To validate they made a great choice by choosing you.
5 Tips:
Start with why their gift mattered, as in what their donation made possible.
Don’t be generic or state big claims that are likely not possible by only their donation.
Move the receipt language, you know what you have to say per IRS, to the bottom after the signature or as another separate page altogether.
Circle all the I/we/our in red and the you/your in green. Make sure you have way more green.
Keep it to one page and at least 14-point font. If you have to make the font smaller, it’s too long of a letter.
Remember the donor made a choice, they picked you, and now you have an opportunity to show them why that donation mattered. To validate they made a great choice by choosing you.
Take Action
To become more donor-centric in your thank you letters, follow these 3 steps:
1 ➡ Grab a copy of your thank you letters and read the first sentence of all of them. Do they start with some version of thank you for your gift?
2 ➡ If they do, take steps to update them asap. Often what they made possible is hidden later in the letter and just needs to be pulled to the first sentence. For inspiration, read Penelope Burk’s Donor-Centered Thank You Letters Project. Then go the extra mile and read your entire letter. Does it feel donor-centric?
3 ➡ Ask someone outside of philanthropy to read your letter. Then ask them if they made a donation to you; would this make them feel that their gift mattered?
👋 See you next time,
Jenny
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