Sunday 26 January 2014

Is this the best thank you letter ever written?

This weekend I received a wonderful thank you letter from Child's i Foundation. Child's i Foundation is an organisation very close to my heart - see The Three Robbers. The thank you letter is exhibits a high level of personalisation and details a degree of donor impact, nonetheless the title of this blog post is a pretty bold claim.

Here's the copy, see what you think.

Dear Stuart,

I just wanted to send you a little something to say thank you for everything you do for Child's i Foundation. It's not just that you believed in us from the beginning, or that you've recently more than doubled your regular gift (for which we are incredibly grateful) or even your unshakable online support. it's you endless commitment and enthusiasm which continues to help our project thrive. You really are changing children's lives - and not just in Uganda. We're committed to growing our successful model, using all experience from the project so far, to help change the lives of more children around the world. Thank you for believing in us and being part of our movement.

Love Teri and Lucy.

I could deconstruct the thank you letter, analyse individual components -
  • It acknowledges the donor's range of support for Child's i Foundation
  • It demonstrates staff know that the donor recently increased a monthly Direct Debit donation
  • It reassures the donor of the impact their donation is making in Uganda (and beyond)
  • It thanks the donor for believing in the organisation
But here's the thing. This isn't an automated, mass produced thank you letter spat out from a customer relationship management database with a series of merged fields to appease the donor's need for authenticity. This is a handwritten note, in a handwritten envelope that has the impudence to address me as "Stuart Glen, Childs i Super Supporter." This is a thank you letter that accompanies a simple piece of artwork from Issa, sent all the way from Uganda.

A thank you note from Child's i Foundation.

I don't know Teri. But I her imagine her taking ten minutes out of her busy day, amidst 101 other things screaming for her attention, to write a thank you note to a Child's i Foundation supporter. It's a letter from one human being to another. That's why I believe this is the best thank you letter ever written.

Fundraisers ask yourself, can you say the same about your suite of thank you letters?