What should I write in a thank-you email to donors?

Put "thank you" and their name in the subject line, write about them, and sign it with a real name.

Your thank-you email is the moment a donor decides how they feel about you. Three small changes make it feel like it was written for one person.

1. Put "thank you" and their name in the subject line

Compare "Donation receipt #4821" with "Thank you, Sarah!". Several fundraising guides recommend using the donor's name in the subject line and the greeting, so they feel seen as a person and not as a number. Societ writes that personalisation raises the chance of an email being opened by 26%, a figure it attributes to Campaign Monitor.

2. Write about them

Use "you" more than "we". "Because of you, ten families ate tonight" says more than "We are grateful for your support". Name the real result of the gift. Guides agree that a concrete outcome helps donors link their action to something real.

3. Sign it with a real name

"The team" is nobody. Sign with a person, for example "Marie, volunteer coordinator" or your director. Examples in fundraising guides show a sender with a name and a role.

A short template

Subject: Thank you, [first name]!

Dear [first name],

Your gift of [amount] arrived today. Because of you, [one concrete result].

We'll tell you how it goes.

With thanks,
[Real name], [role]

Send it straight away. In an experiment Societ describes, a writer sent 15 nonprofits a $20 gift. Thank-you letters by post arrived after 10 to 20 days; one organisation emailed immediately.

In WeGlow

If your organisation has written a thank-you text, WeGlow sends it automatically after a gift. You write it once and it goes out after every donation. Not every organisation has written one yet.

How sure are we?

The name in the subject line and the concrete result are recommended by several guides. The "you more than we" rule is a writing habit we use, and we did not find a source that tests it. One guide also suggests offering a way to give more in the thank-you. We prefer to keep the thank-you clean and ask later.

When should I send the thank-you email?

As soon as possible after the gift. Societ recommends emailing straight away and describes thank-you letters by post taking 10 to 20 days. A quick email shows the donor their gift arrived and that you are glad of it.

What goes in the subject line of a thank-you email?

Put the words thank you and the donor's first name in it, for example "Thank you, Sarah!". EverTrue recommends using the name or the amount and keeping the line short: no more than nine words, according to Mailchimp research.

Who should sign the thank-you email?

A real person with a role, such as the director or the volunteer coordinator. "The team" is nobody. Examples in fundraising guides show a sender with a name and a role, so the donor knows who is thanking them.

Should I ask for another gift in the thank-you email?

We advise against doing it straight away. One guide suggests offering a way to give more in the thank-you. We prefer to keep the thank-you clean and ask later, so the donor feels the gratitude first.

Sources

5 things you should do in your donor thank-you email (Foundation Group): use the name in subject and greeting; say why and how the gift is used
How to create thank-you email subject lines (EverTrue): personalise the subject line with the name; include "thank you"
How to write a great donation thank-you email (Societ): sender with a name and role; send right after the gift
Beyond the donor thank-you letter (Fundraise Up): anchor the thank-you in a concrete outcome