Many people donate online now. There’s a good reason for this. It’s usually fast and easy, or at least it should be.

One problem with online donations is the poor thank yous that come after your donor has given you a gift. Even though your thank you landing page and thank you email are automatically generated, doesn’t mean they need to sound like they were written by a robot.

Keep in mind that a human being is on the other end and deserves to be lavished with gratitude.

Here’s how you can do a better job with your online thank yous and give your donors the recognition they deserve.

Make a good first impression with your thank you landing page

Your landing page is your first chance to say thank you and it’s usually about as engaging as an Amazon receipt. In fact, I’ve received online shopping receipts that are more personal than some nonprofit “thank you” landing pages.

Open with Thank you, Jenna! or You’re amazing!  Include an engaging photo or video and a short, easy to understand description of how the donation will help the people you serve.

If you use a third-party giving site, you might be able to customize the landing page. If not, follow up with a personal thank you email message within 48 hours.

I recently made a bunch of donations and here is the text from a couple of the thank you landing pages.

*************************************************************************************

Transaction Complete

Thank you for supporting X organization

For questions about this donation, please refer to donation number 10AC8199 in your correspondence.

A detailed receipt has been sent to ag@xxx

Click here to return to our homepage.

Receipt

Donation Number: 10AC8199

Ann Green, as per your selections on the previous screens, your one-time donation in the amount of $ has been charged to your Visa card on 09/18/2018.

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Okay, there are a lot of things wrong here. The first thing I see should not be Transaction Complete. I wouldn’t even use the word transaction. A donation is much more than a transaction.

It’s not until the second line that I actually get thanked. I’ve also been reduced to a number, which I guess is how the organization keeps track of their donations.

There’s nothing about how my gift will make a difference. I’ll give the organization a little bit of a pass. This was a donation to a local community foundation that set up a special fund in response to a recent emergency. They may not have had time to change their thank you landing page, but even a generic thank you for helping to make a difference in the community would have been better than this.

Speaking of better, here’s what I received after I supported someone in a charity walk.

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Thank You!

It’s official, you’re helping the American Cancer Society to save lives from breast cancer.

Your donation of $  has been applied towards X X’s fundraising goal. See how your donation will make a difference here. (Link to website)

Your transaction summary and receipt has been emailed to you at a@xxx.

Here are three ways you can maximize the value of your donation:

Employer Matching

Check with your human resources department to see if your company has a matching gift program. You could double your donation just by filling out a form.

Share Your Donation

Tell your friends and family you donated and encourage them to do the same. Or even better, have them join you in signing up for a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.

Share via Facebook  Share via Twitter

Join a Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Event

Each event is unique, but our true power lies in the combined commitment of thousands of participants. (link to join an event).

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The first thing you see here is THANK YOU! in big bold letters. You want to say thank you to your donors, not tell them they’ve completed a transaction. Then they went on to tell me how my gift is helping to make a difference and other ways to get involved.

It’s hard to get away from transaction mode, and while not an outstanding thank you landing page, this is better than the first one.

Here are more examples of good thank you landing pages.

How to Create Post Donation Thank You Pages That Delight Donors

Creating a Stellar Thank You for Donating Page

Write an awesome thank you email

Start off by thinking of a good subject line. At the very least say Thank You! and not Donation Received. You want your thank you email to stand out in your donor’s ever-growing inbox.

Open your message with Thank You or You just did something incredible, and not the usual On Behalf of X organization. Then let the donor know how they’re helping you make a difference for the people/community you serve.

The subject line of the first organization I referenced above was Thank You for Supporting the X Emergency Fund!  Okay, but not great.

The body of the initial thank you email was just as uninspiring as the thank you landing page and was basically just a receipt.

*************************************************************************************

Dear Ann Green,   

Thank you for your online donation! Your donation has been successfully processed.   

DONATION NUMBER: 10AC8199     

DOLLAR AMOUNT: $

DATE AND TIME: 09/18/18 02:47 PM.   

PAYMENT METHOD: Your Visa card ending in

———————————-   

Thank you for supporting XXXX

Please print this e-mail for your records. No goods or services have been provided in consideration of this gift. For future questions about this donation please refer to the donation number in your correspondence.

If you have any comments or questions about this donation or about our organization, you may contact us at:

XXX

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There’s no human element to this at all. I hoped I would hear more about how my gift is helping to make a difference later and my wish was granted.

As I was working on this post, I received a second email a few days later that opened with.

Thank You

Your donation to X is helping to rebuild lives.

Some of the text included:  

We didn’t want another moment to go by without expressing our heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of you who donated.

Your donated dollars are a lifeline coming into these communities gripped by tragedy.

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Overall, the organization redeemed itself with the second thank you email, but their initial thank you a few days before didn’t leave a good first impression.

I think the lesson here is to have a good thank you email template in place, which you can modify as needed. Be sure yours looks like much more than a receipt.

The second organization opened their thank you email with the subject line You’re Helping Save Lives  Here’s the body of the message.

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Thank you Ann for donating to Making Strides of Boston.

By supporting the American Cancer Society, you ensure that no one dealing with a breast cancer diagnosis will walk alone. Your donation helps by funding research, providing free information and support services, and helping detect the disease early when it’s easiest to treat.

Increase Your Impact

Thank you for your gift. There are simple ways to make your gift even more impactful:

1. Find out if your company offers matching gifts. It is an easy way to double your donation!
2. Promote your support through social media. Tell everyone on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram about your work with our Making Strides walk. You may inspire others join you.

Join Us

Come to your local Making Strides event. You could even start your own team.

Thank you for helping save lives.

Sincerely,

XXX

Event Name:	Making Strides of Boston
In Support Of:	XXXX
Date:	Sep 18, 2018 1:51:17 PM
Amount:	$
Tracking Code:	1176-22848-1-38008066-39147184

 

Note: Your gift is tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.

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This one did a good job of thanking me. They told me how my gift would make a difference, gave me other ways to get involved, and included some engaging, colorful pictures.

Yes, there’s a receipt, which you should include in either a thank you email or letter, but AFTER you pour on the gratitude.

Again, don’t make your message sound like it was written by a robot. Write something warm and personal.

Thanking a Donor by Email: Best Practices and Examples

How to Create a Compelling Nonprofit Thank You Email

Making the thank you experience more personal

Since your thank you landing page and email are automatically generated, you can’t make them as personal as a handwritten note, phone call, or letter. That’s why you need to do at least one of those for your online donors. I wrote about that in my last post. Take Thanking Your Donors to the Next Level  An email thank you is not enough.

You won’t be able to segment much, but you should be able to distinguish between single gifts and monthly donations.

Your thank you landing page and email acknowledgment are just the beginning. Make them engaging and personal and keep up that theme as you continue to communicate with your donors throughout the year