Sending Thank-You’s
Donors are the foundation of your campaign. You truly couldn’t do this without their support! We want to make sure they always feel appreciated, not only because it’s courteous, but because people who have already given will likely give again.
Thank you notes should be a physical piece of mail with the candidate’s signature. Donors should receive their thank you note in the mail within two weeks of each donation they make.You will want as much information as possible so that you can follow up with them until they complete their contribution. The schedule and examples below will help keep you on track to getting pledges in the door and keeping your donors engaged.
The Basic ‘Thank-You’ Letter
Your ‘Thank you’ note should include the following:
Your campaign logo
A thank you!
Your commitment to the issues you care about
How their donation will help you achieve these goals
Another thank you and an assurance that the campaign is on track
Your signature
“Paid for by” disclaimer
A union bug or “Printed In House, Labor Donated”
Postcards:
Many larger campaigns have adopted a practice of using postcards to thank their lower dollar donors, this is a quick and cost effective way to show your appreciation. While it does come with the upfront cost upfront of printing, if you expect large number of grassroots donations, this can save you money.
Handwritten notes:
Some candidates attempt to hand write personal messages to all their donors! Donors are not going to expect this level of personal touch while you are in the throes of the campaign. If you feel the need to write personal notes, instead pen a personal message to only a small number of people each week that have hosted events for you or made extra effort to support your fundraising.
Mail-merging your letters and address labels:
An easy way to transfer your donor date into your note is by using the “mail merge” feature in Word to link data from an Excel sheet. Detailed instructions for how to use mail merge can be found online here:
