Donor meetings are a fantastic way to get a sense of what your donors are looking for – and they often result in a donation. But whether you get a gift or not, it's crucial to send a thank-you message whenever a donor takes the time to meet with you. In this article, we'll walk through everything you need to know about saying thanks after a meeting.
![Write the Perfect Thank-You after Meeting a Donor [+ Samples]](https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/New-Design-2022-blog-images-Nov-to-Dec-2-1-1.png)
Meeting with donors is a vital part of stewarding them, especially major donors.
And when you meet with a potential or existing donor, whether they give to your organization or not, it’s important to send a thank-you note after the meeting.
You need to show your gratitude! But…what do you write? This article will make it simple for you with donor meeting thank-you best practices and two free samples. You’ll never have to stumble through writing a meeting thank-you note again!
There are several reasons why sending a thank-you note for a meeting with any kind of donor is so important. It doesn’t matter if they donate during that meeting, promise to donate some time in the future, or don’t donate at all – each meeting is an opportunity.
Sending a donor meeting thank-you is a must for the following reasons.
Anytime someone goes out of their way to meet with you, you must recognize their effort and properly thank them. Thank-you notes after meetings are just one great way to thank donors.
Meetings are an excellent stewardship opportunity. Whether you get a donation then or not, connecting with a donor – and building on that connection – can lead to more opportunities for your organization in the future. For one, this definitely helps with donor retention.
There’s no harm in reminding a donor that they’ve agreed to help your nonprofit in some way. Whether that’s a donation or helping you make a connection with other donors.
To ensure this happens effectively, make it a point to note your communication details after or during each meeting. This can be achieved with your donor management system.
Donorbox enables nonprofits to add communication notes to donor records. These notes keep track of communication and keep reminding you about the actions you must take including sending a thank-you.
A thank-you note after meeting donors encourages them to communicate with you; which helps build a solid donor relationship. And means more cultivation opportunities!
Bonus Resource: Listen to this short podcast on creating effective donation thank you letters:
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Each thank-you note should be tailored to the individual donor – and your experience at the meeting. For example, if you met for lunch on a sunny restaurant patio, you might remark on how nice it was to spend such a sunny afternoon together.
Making the note personal will help the donor feel special and deepen their connection to you.
The sweet spot for sending a thank-you note after a meeting is no longer than a day. But a few hours after is preferable.
Why? You don’t want to let the donor lose their momentum. Plus you want to look like you’re on top of things! If doing it yourself seems like too much, here’s where your donor management tool would come in handy. Just add communication or meeting notes to your respective donor record and let one of your team members do the needful.
On Donorbox, you’ll find your communication notes listed inside the donor records under the “Communications” tab. Each note will come with the person’s name who has added it, the date, the direction of communication (inbound, outbound, internal), the channel (in this case, meeting), and the note you’ve added.
If they gave you a donation during your meeting, this is a great time to send them a donation receipt. Attach this receipt to your thank-you email and make way for a lasting relationship!
If your donor made an online donation, then with Donorbox, they’ll receive an automatic receipt in their inbox instantly. You can easily customize this receipt on Donorbox to ensure all receipts have the information and message you want to send to your donors.
Create Customized Donation Receipts
As we said above, there is no harm in using your thank-you note to confirm any promises made during your meeting.
For example, if they agreed to introduce you to the head of a foundation they know personally, it is perfectly appropriate to politely remind them of this in your donor meeting thank-you note.
The same goes for any pledges they made to your organization. You can remind them in the thank-you note by thanking them again for their generous pledge. You can also share ways to make the donation – a QR code, links to your existing campaigns, your donation page, etc.
Accountability goes both ways. So if you made any promises during your meeting, it’s important to confirm those promises and outline how you will accomplish them.
This strengthens their trust in your organization. They’ll feel more comfortable making a donation and connecting with you in the future for any queries.
There’s no harm in sharing how your donors can give to your organization in your thank-you note.
Keep in mind that your thank-you note should not be a solicitation. However, simply sharing the link to your online donation form is a reminder to give. Plus, they might share it with their friends!
Donorbox also gives you the code to help embed a donate button in your email messages. This button takes donors to your Donorbox campaign page. A button is a great CTA for encouraging your donor to make a donation.
It’s vital to keep track of all communications including your meeting thank-you notes for prospective and current donors. This helps you and your team avoid over-communication, which can make you seem pesky.
As mentioned before, Donorbox makes it easy to log every communication detail in your donor records. So go ahead and log your donor meeting thank you there, as shown below. The best part is that if it’s an offline donor or a prospective one, you can still add them to the Donorbox donor database and add communication details.
With the best practices listed above in mind, here are 2 sample donor meeting thank-you notes to help you get started!
Good afternoon ______,
Thank you so much for taking the time to meet with me today. I so enjoyed getting to know a little more about you, your goals, and your philanthropic interests.
We work hard to make sure our nonprofit serves as many members of our target community as possible, as outlined in the annual report I brought for you to review. Let me know if you have any questions about that document or our mission in general. Your suggestion for our next fundraising event is a great idea, and greatly appreciated!
You mentioned introducing me to the Director of the _____ Foundation. I would love to set that up sometime in the next two weeks. Could you please let me know your availability and the best way to move forward with Mrs. _____?
Thank you again, and more soon,
Your Name
Good afternoon _____,
Thank you so much for your time today, and for your generous donation of $____ to our ____ fund. Your donation will help us reach twenty members of the community we serve. Attached is a PDF of your receipt for tax purposes.
I so enjoyed getting to know more about you, your goals, and your philanthropic interests.
As promised, I plan to look into how we can increase our contributed income from grants, and I will follow up with you once I meet with our Grants Manager. Your concerns about our fiscal health are valid and welcome. Thank you for being such an important part of our organization.
Please let me know if you have any questions about your donation receipt or if there’s anything else I can help with. Thank you again for your support and your time!
Sincerely,
Your Name
When you’re lucky enough to secure a meeting with a donor, you need to take every step to secure that relationship. One of those steps is sending a thank-you note.
With the right best practices in mind, your donor meeting thank-you can strengthen a budding donor relationship and help you follow up on important matters. Plus, it’s just a polite thing to do!
Donorbox can help you strengthen each and every donor relationship with powerful donor management tools so you never miss a thank-you. You also get to integrate with leading CRM tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Blackbaud RE NXT, etc. to better utilize your donor data and improve your communications.
Learn about Donorbox’s fundraising features chosen by 80,000+ organizations in 96 countries across the globe. Get started today – for free!
For more tips about donor management, communication, emails, letters, etc., check out the Donorbox Nonprofit Blog. Subscribe to our newsletter to receive a curated list of our best resources in your inbox every month.
Lindsey spent years wearing many hats in the nonprofit world. Whether she was helping arts nonprofits with their messaging and content, planning a fundraising gala, writing an NEA grant proposal, or running a membership program with over 400 members, she learned how to navigate – and appreciate! – the fast-paced world of fundraising. Now, she loves sharing those hard-earned lessons with the Donorbox community.
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Lindsey Baker Bower