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I work in fundraising for a small cancer charity and we're looking at the admin around thanking donors (mostly that come through our website or direct to bank). Currently we thank all donors over £50 with a personalised thank you letter (everyone below gets an automated thank you from the website - which is nice with personal touches too).

We're thinking of increasing the amount which donors donate before we personally thank but would be interested in hearing what other people do?

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Vanessa Eden Staff PANEL

Head of Fundraising at Open Sight Hampshire 2 years ago

It depends on what you mean by a personalised letter. Charities that I have worked for, send a thank you letter and personalise it by adding a couple of lines relevant to the donation and the donors situation but the bulk of the thank you letter has standard paragraphs already in the letter, which of course saves time. The signature however, is handwritten to offer a personal touch. Alternatively, a personalised letter can be a handwritten letter or a letter that is different each time depending on the donor etc. I suppose Gemma, it comes down to how many people you have in the team and/or is responsible for the thank you letters. Will it make a difference in your workload if you raise the amount to £100, depending on how many through the door donations you get as opposed to online? Does your CRM have the facility to generate a thank you letter when you receive a donation through the post? as these can be edited to give a personalised touch, again saving time. Good luck!

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James Swyer Staff PANEL

Head of Membership & Marketing at GWCT 2 years ago

We have an opt-in system where people tick for a thank you letter, plus they'll get an automated thank you if donating online.

I'd echo Julie's point about the economic climate. I've been sending handsigned letters to all first-time donors and trying to be a bit more targeted in assessing who might appreciate that sentiment.

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Julie Dixon Staff PANEL

CO at British Acoustic Neuroma Association 2 years ago

We also do a personal thank you to donors at £50 and over, but we are seriously considering doing personal thank you to those who donate £30 and over in recognition of how difficult things are are present and how much we appreciate people still thinking of us and making a donation

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Rob Grant Staff PANEL

Corporate Fundraising & Partnerships Executive at Shine Charity 2 years ago

Julie Dixon I couldn't agree more with this. At a time where the majority of people are feeling a lot general insecurity and doubt, I honestly think I would also be considering personalised letters for lower amounts of money rather than higher amounts. At the very least this is going to make a smile on the face of somebody who could only just afford the £30 and will never afford the £100.

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