Thank You Message: How to Thank Donors Effectively
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Thank You Message: How to Thank Donors Effectively

A thank you message shows appreciation and activates further support. Learn how to thank donors personally, warmly and creatively – and thus motivate them to continue supporting your crowdfunding!
Redaktion
Redaktion betterplace.me
Reading time: 7 min
Updated: 14.01.2025
Thanking your donors is more than just a polite gesture in crowdfunding for private individuals and social or activist initiatives. It is an essential step in building a strong connection with your supporters and a community with them. In this article, you will learn why thank you messages are important and how to make it effective in mobilizing more support.

Why Is a Thank You Letter so Important?

Thanking your supporters increases the likelihood that they will continue to support your fundraiser. With little effort, they can do more to help you reach your fundraising goal: whether it's sharing the campaign on social media or telling their family and friends about it. Those who want to do even more can organise creative events such as a fundraising tournament, a fundraising concert or a yoga session in return for donations. Donors just need to be activated – and that's not so hard! You just need to know how.

There are inhibiting and activating emotions. The inhibiting ones include isolation, hopelessness and (self-)doubt. In contrast, urgency, hope, anger at injustice, community and the feeling of being able to make a difference have an activating effect. Thank you messages and updates on crowdfunding campaigns are predestined to evoke precisely these emotions!

A well-written thank you message not only builds trust and emotional bonds with you, but also strengthens their sense of community. It shows what can be achieved together with many people. When people feel that they are part of a larger cause and community, identify with it, feel self-effective and see how others are also involved, they are more motivated to spread the word about the fundraising campaign. A simple expression of gratitude can therefore have a far-reaching impact.

For larger donations, a personal, detailed message is worthwhile. You can acknowledge smaller donations with a group thank-you message, i.e. an update to all previous donors.

How to Thank for Donations?


1. Send Personal Messages

Personal thank-you messages are particularly effective. You can see who has donated in the ‘Donation overview’ in the admin area of your crowdfunding campaign and write an individual message. You don't have to start from scratch each time. Here is a sample message that you can customise for you and your fundraiser:

'Dear [name],

Thank you so much for your amazing support! Your donation will help me tremendously to [impact of the donations] It means so much to me that you are supporting me and my cause. Thank you for being part of this journey together with [number of donors to date] more donors!

Best regards, [your name]’

The more personal the message, the better. Especially for larger donations, it is worth responding individually to comments or personal messages from donors. If you don't have the time, you could ask friends or campaign colleagues for help.

2. Share News


In addition to personal thank-you messages, it is important to keep donors informed about the progress of your campaign. Show how their donation is helping in concrete ways. An example could be an update like:

‘Thanks to your support, we have already reached [current donation amount]!

Please help us spread the word about our campaign so that we can reach our donation goal and make [crowdfunding impact] happen!’

Add a small call to action to encourage supporters to spread your campaign. This way, you maximise the positive effect of your communication.

You can write the update in the admin area under ‘News’. Don't forget to tick the box ‘Also send this news to donors by email’ so that all donors receive it directly in their email inbox and it is not only visible on the campaign page. This article also contains more information about when and how you can send updates to your donors.

Ideas for Thank You Messages

We've all been there: it's just a few words, but somehow you can't find the ones that feel right. We'll give you a few inspirations on how to say ‘thank you’ in different ways.

  • ‘Thank you for your help’: a classic and heartfelt thank you is always well received.
  • ‘Thank you for your donation’: direct and to the point.
  • ‘Thank you for your support! Only with many can we achieve [the crowdfunding impact]’: particularly suitable if you want to emphasise the community.
  • ‘Thank you for your great help’: perfect for expressing great appreciation.
  • We would like to express our sincere thanks for your generous donation. Thanks to your help, we can [mention the specific impact of the donation]’: Particularly suitable for larger donations or a formal context.

It's always good to state in the thank you messages what you are achieving together and what a difference you are making – but also how urgently the rest of the amount is needed to reach the fundraising goal. To make it personal and relatable, use a quote from the person you are fundraising for, or from their family. If the money is for you, then a friend or parent  – or more creatively: your pet! – could say what the support means, what effect it has and what reaching the overall goal would make possible. At the end of this article, you will find a template for a thank you message that you can easily customise to suit you and your crowdfunding campaign.


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Tips for Effective Thank You Letters

  • Be prompt: The faster you express your thanks, the more effective it is.
  • Be personal: Mention the donors' names and, if possible, also refer to their motivation or comments.
  • Be specific: Show how the donation makes a difference.
  • Be creative: A little poem, a moving quote or emojis can enhance the writing.

Conclusion: Gratitude Creates Long-term Connections and Success

A heartfelt ‘thank you for the donation’ is not just a nice gesture, but a powerful way to make your fundraiser a success. Whether it's a personal message, an update to all donors, or a creative approach, your supporters will be happy to receive your thank you and it will make it tangible for them what the community of donors can achieve together.

Start sending your thank you messages today and maintain your relationship with your donors. Then you can achieve great things together!


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Template for a Personal Thank You Letter to a Donor

Here is a simple template that you can use for your thank you letters. The thank you messages work best when you customise and personalise them for your campaign.

‘Dear [name],

I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart! Your donation of [amount] has brought me a big step closer to my goal. Thanks to your support, I can [mention a specific project/goal/impact of the campaign].

I am very grateful to have people like you by my side, helping me to make a difference. I would be very happy if you would share my crowdfunding campaign with friends and family so that together we can achieve even more.


Thank you again for your help and trust.

Best regards, [your name]’


Thank You Letter to All Donors via a News Update

Instead of thanking each donor personally, you can also send a news update to all donors via the admin area of your campaign. We have found this great example from a campaign that we’d like to share with you. It shows how an update to all can still be very personal:

‘A huge thank you!

Dear neighbours and friends! Dear donors from near and far! Dear EVERYONE who has supported us in our cause in so many different ways – in short: dear EVERYONE!

As can be seen from our campaign description, our neighbours in Cologne surprised us at the beginning of September with the idea of this fundraising campaign for a vehicle suitable for the disabled for our son Leo. After many arduous journeys with the previous car, the idea and the planned crowdfunding campaign were a real ray of hope for us and the campaign went online on 7 September on betterplace.me. Despite initial doubts, the success was simply overwhelming and we would never have expected such a great response and support at the same time!

We are equally touched, delighted and overjoyed by the enormous amount of donations for our cause, which we have received from so many people, institutions and associations, especially from our friends, acquaintances and relatives, but also far beyond! Thanks to you, we have already reached the first milestone: in mid-December, we were able to purchase a new vehicle that not only offers more space and comfort, but also the perfect basis for later conversion! We are now really looking forward to the first and countless further trips!

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us from the bottom of our hearts and thank you for the incredible donations! All of this has touched us deeply and helped us even more – we really appreciate it! A friend of ours summed up how much solidarity there is in a community of donors like this:

‘I am deeply fascinated by how the appeal has managed to mobilise such a large community of solidarity, to strengthen cohesion and to pursue a common goal! I think that this is an important sign in these strange times!’

We do too! We wish you all a peaceful holiday season with your loved ones. Stay safe and sound!
Thomas, Katharina and Leo Lacmann’

News update shared by Thomas Lacmann for the campaign Donations for Leo: a car suitable for the disabled

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The Most Common Questions and Answers about Saying Thank You


Why Is It Important to Thank Donors?

A thank you shows appreciation and strengthens the relationship with your supporters. It increases the likelihood that they will continue to support you or share your campaign. They begin to feel like they are part of the campaign, part of the community of donors. And maybe they will also consider what else they can do to mobilise donations beyond sharing. Personal messages are ideal. They should be timely, specific and heartfelt. The more personalised, the better. Follow up with updates and news.

Should Thank You Messages Be Different for Large and Small Donations?

For larger donations, a personal, detailed message is worthwhile. You can acknowledge smaller donations with group thank you messages or updates. In addition to the first thank you message, regular updates on the progress and success of the campaign are a good way to stay in touch.

What Should a Thank You Message Include?

Mention the name of the donor (if known), express your heartfelt thanks, mention the purpose of the donation and, if possible, specific impacts. You can convey a sense of urgency, hope, anger at injustice, community and togetherness or the feeling of being able to make a difference. These have an activating effect. The thank-you message should also be
  • prompt: The faster you express your thanks, the more effective it is.
  • personal: Mention the donors' names and, if possible, also refer to their motivation or comments.
  • specific: Show how the donation makes a difference.
  • creative: A little poem, a moving quote or emojis can enhance the writing.

How Can I Thank My Donors on betterplace.me?

On betterplace.me, there are two ways you can thank your donors. The first is to send a thank you message to them personally. The second option is to send a message to all your donors via the admin area to thank them and at the same time provide them with information about the status of the campaign.


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<p><b>betterplace.me</b> – the social crowdfunding platform for everyone who wants to collect private donations easily and securely. As an initiative of a non-profit organization from Berlin, we develop the necessary tools to help you find support quickly.</p>

betterplace.me – the social crowdfunding platform for everyone who wants to collect private donations easily and securely. As an initiative of a non-profit organization from Berlin, we develop the necessary tools to help you find support quickly.