21 Creative Ways to Say Thank You to Donors
Thanking your donors is key to keeping your crowdfunding community-engaged and dedicated to your cause. Sometimes it can even inspire one-time donors to become recurring donors.
Why thanking donors matters
Thanking your donors is crucial to building strong relationships. Strong relationships are the cornerstone of crowdfunding as ultimately it is your social network that will help you raise your funds. Showing that you are grateful for a generous donation of any kind shows that person that you have seen their support and acknowledge it. Acknowledgement can improve your reputation as a fundraiser as it makes your donors feel valued and means that they are more likely to donate to future causes you may have. In fact, studies show donor retention is much more important than donor acquisition when it comes to nonprofit fundraising. Here are a few more key reasons to thank your donors:
- Improving donor engagement: This applies to both individuals and nonprofits running fundraising campaigns. With a simple heartfelt message, you can improve donor engagement and improve donor relationships.
- Recurring donation potential: Turn first-time donors into recurring donations by engaging your donors through thank-you letters not only can you build lasting relationships but you can also ask for continued support.
- Donor management: Reaching out to donors to say thank you via direct mail or email, is a great chance for your to organize your list of donors. This may be more important to nonprofits with larger lists of donors but even small fundraisers can benefit from sitting down, gathering donation receipts, and taking inventory of all your donors that you can follow-up with on your next fundraiser or to ask for continued support.
- Common sense: It’s simply common sense to take the initiative to thank donors. If you are able to with a handwritten letter great, but even a simple email will suffice to show donors how much you appreciate their generous donation. Any type of thank-you can make a big impact on the impression you make with everyone who supported you.
There are five things to keep in mind when thanking your donors
- Timing- Timing is important when it comes to thanking donors. Try to thank your donors as soon as you can after they have donated. If you leave it too long, your donor may think you don’t appreciate their donation.
- Impact- Be sure to tell your donor the impact their donation will have. You can post photos or videos updating your donors on how you are getting on in your fundraising and let them know how their donation helped you get there.
- Increase engagement- When you thank your donors, encourage them to share your fundraiser which can lead to increased engagement on social media and other platforms. Donors are more likely to share your campaign with their networks when they feel appreciated.
- Celebrate your donors: Make your thank you about your donor and not about you. Hype up your donors so they feel like they have made a real impact on what you are trying to achieve. You can focus on the donor by using language such as “you” and “your” as opposed to “I” or “we”.
- Make it personal – Everyone likes to feel special and donors are no different. Make sure you make your “thank you” personal. Take the time to think about your donor so you can make your “thank you” note authentic.
Struggling to come up with ideas? Here are 21 ways to say thank you to donors without breaking the bank.
1. Make a custom GIF
A GIF brings pictures to life, and it can have a surprisingly large emotional impact. Create an animated, personalized GIF for your donors. Share it on social media with a simple thank-you message. You can create custom GIFs at Giphy.
2. Create a personalized playlist
Creating a custom playlist for your donors can be a powerful way to say thank you. Use a music streaming site to easily create and share your playlist.
3. Plant a tree
If you want to say thank you to donors in a lasting way, consider planting a tree dedicated to all your donors. It’s a perfect way to honor supporters while helping beautify your community.
4. Post on Snapchat Story
Show your appreciation with a short and sweet thank-you video—and post it on your Snapchat Story. It’s an easy way to publicly showcase those who have contributed to your fundraiser’s success.
5. Endow public thank-yous
To show your lasting appreciation, consider a lasting public donation, such as engraved bricks or plaques. You could integrate this idea into your fundraising efforts (for example, supporters could “buy” bricks when they donate to your cause).
6. Create handmade donor gifts
Get crafty with your thanks—use your skills to make a handmade gift that shows your gratitude. Consider holiday wreaths, baked dog treats, knitted scarves, or any other gifts you can make yourself.
7. Send thank-you emails
Email is an easy way to get a large number of thank-yous to your donors. Write an email that outlines why you’re grateful for their help, and how their generous donations are contributing to a positive change in the world. Make sure to personalize each email to make donors feel special.
8. Pay it forward
When your donor community has a cause they’re fundraising for, reciprocate by offering your help. Even if you can’t donate to their cause, you can still offer to volunteer, to help with their fundraiser, or to share their fundraiser with your social network.
9. Give a social media shout-out
Show your gratitude on Facebook, Twitter, or the platform your donors use most. A simple shout-out on Facebook is a great way to shine a spotlight on your supporters and say thank you to donors.You can even shout-out new donors to make sure they are recognized.
10. Share your knowledge
Offer to teach your donors useful skills—perhaps baking, guitar, or whatever else sparks their interest. One option is to use the site Wisdo to share your wisdom with others going through similar life events.
11. Post a Facebook live video
To show how a donor’s contribution directly affects your cause, consider creating a Facebook Live video to broadcast your appreciation. If you’re raising funds to create a community garden, for example, use Facebook Live to broadcast the building process. It’ll help your supporters feel involved in the experience.
12. Send a handwritten note
You may think in 2025 thank you letters are outdated, but this is not the case. Thank you letters remain relevant and valuable for expressing gratitude to donors. Thank you letters enable you to add a personal touch to donor appreciation. Simply taking the time to write down why and how much you appreciate your donors in thank you letters conveys thoughtfulness and sincerity. Sending a thank you for a donation letter that is handwritten is a great way to make sure a donor or new donors feel special.
Physical letters are also a good way to reinforce branding, enhance donor loyalty, and stand out in a digital age. They can also serve as important documentation and can foster ongoing relationships by being a precursor to future communications. While digital thank yous are convenient, traditional thank you letters complement them well.
13. Send a creative gift
Create an artistic donor thank-you gift. For example, let your donors inspire you to write a thank-you poem or song or paint/draw your own thank you note. Enlist the help of friends who have the needed skills.
14. Make a video
Make a short video of you expressing your appreciation for your donors. You can create individual videos to send directly to your supporters, or consider making one video that you post to your fundraiser and social media.
15. Send thanks through GoFundMe
If your fundraising fundraiser is on GoFundMe, you have a thank-you tool at your disposal. Just log in, go to ‘Donations,’ and click ‘Say Thanks’ beneath your donors’ names.
16. Send updates on GoFundMe
Alongside thank you notes you can also post updates on GoFundMe. Posting updates is a great way to continue to tell your story as your fundraiser progresses. It is also a great way to show the impact of your donors’ donations. You can include videos and photos in your update to further exemplify the progress of your fundraiser. Be sure to post regular updates so your donors can remain abreast of your fundraiser. Posting once a week is a good cadence to try to stick to.
17. Make a home-cooked meal
An easy way to thank donors is to make them a home-cooked meal. This is especially useful if your donors are local. For supporters elsewhere, use TakeThemAMeal to schedule meal deliveries for.
18. Spotlight a donor profile
If you have a personal website or blog, write a profile on some of your donors. This simple act of recognition also serves as an opportunity to get to know your supporters and make a personal connection with them.
19. Illustrate your donors’ impact
Use a chalkboard to show your fundraiser’s progress through illustrated charts. With each milestone reached, add to the illustration, thanking each donor along the way.
20. Create custom swag
From homemade jewelry to monogrammed t-shirts, there are endless options for custom swag for your supporters. Your donors will appreciate a personalized reminder of how they helped your cause.
21. Send a postcard
This is a great idea if your fundraiser takes you somewhere outside your community. Pick a few fun postcards; write heartfelt thank-you messages on each before mailing them off to donors. You could also use your own fundraiser photos to create postcards.
22. Make a phone call or text
While it may seem outdated, making a phone call to donors is another great way to thank them. If you do have a phone number to contact donors, you don’t even need to actually call, a simple text message saying thank you really makes an impact with donor relationships. If your fundraising campaign is part of a larger organization that has major donors, a phone call to those donors may be especially important. In the call or text, you can thank them for their recent donation and invite them to your next fundraising event, if your organization has a gala, fair, or other special event in the future.
23. Send a letter through the mail
Sending direct mail and handwritten letters have fallen out of favor, but their impact is greatly under appreciated. For individual fundraisers, this may seem daunting, but you can employ family and friends to help you write handwritten letters to your donors. Start by creating one or a few thank-you letter templates, then use those to guide yourself or your team of helpers in showing genuine appreciation in your outreach to donors. Even using a template, your donation thank-you letter will show appreciation and care.
Thank your donors today
However small the gesture, a thoughtful thank-you helps show your donors that their impact is not only meaningful but also appreciated.
If you haven’t already, start your fundraiser with GoFundMe. When the donations start coming in, use our built-in tools for thanking donors. We are on hand to show you how crowdfunding works and answer all your questions and check out our thank-you letter blog post with templates which you can find here.