Acknowledgement Letter Best Practices

When you create content for revenue acknowledgements, consider these best practices:

• Keep the letter short, with no more than four paragraphs. Include a friendly postscript with timely info such as a holiday message, an upcoming opportunity to visit your organization, or links to online videos about your organization.

• Start the letter with an exciting lead sentence, as opposed to “Thank you for your gift of...”

• Personalize the acknowledgement with info about the donor, using merge fields such as name, revenue amount, and the applicable designation, appeal, or membership renewal. To help constituents track charitable giving for tax purposes, include all required tax-deductible related information and verbiage. Mention any benefits the donor receives in exchange for the transaction.

• Thank the donor for the transaction multiple times, and use the word “you” more frequently than “we” and “our.” For a recurring gift or repeat donation, thank the donor for both the past and continued generosity. For a tribute or donation made on behalf of another constituent, thank the constituent who made the donation rather than the tributee. Include information about how the donations enable recent accomplishments.

• Don't use the acknowledgement to solicit for additional giving such as donations or recurring gifts.

• Inform the donor of when and how they will next hear from you.

• Include contact info for your organization such as a telephone number, email address, and website.

  Tip: For an email address, direct recipients to a live person rather than a generic inbox.

• Proofread your letter and read the content out loud.

• If possible, sign each printed acknowledgement by hand or determine a minimum amount of a transaction for which to sign by hand.