Nonprofits should realize that this necessary annual mailing to donors has other opportunities.
The temperature is dropping, Christmas decorations are appearing, and that means one thing for nonprofit leaders—it’s time to start preparing those tax receipt letters you’ll be sending in January.
It’s tempting to see the tax receipt merely as a throwaway mailing—as a box you have to check off to satisfy legal requirements in order to give your donors what they need for their tax records. But don’t give in to that limited temptation. Yes, tax receipts for contributions may be a legal necessity—but that doesn’t mean they have to be boring.
Indeed, the tax receipt communication is a valuable way to steward your relationship with your donors.
Show Gratitude
Since it’s already a look back at the past year’s giving record, a tax receipt letter is the perfect place to thank your donor and remind them of all that they made possible over the past year. Here’s some advice: Don’t just say thank you. Be creative and include some concrete examples or stories about the meaningful difference their generosity made.
This resonates. When I wrote thank-you notes for my wedding, I made sure not only to thank the person for their gift, but to describe how that gift would help me and my husband (e.g., “I’m going to make the baking dish you gave me to cook my favorite casserole this weekend!”). And all the best thank you notes I’ve received do something similar: they paint a picture of how my gift will help the person in the future.
Nonprofit tax-receipt letters should be no different.
One college that I donate to always includes testimonials from students on scholarship (these include pictures of each student) in its tax statement. I love reading about how my gift has made a concrete difference in the life of an actual person I can see.
Your examples may be different. But whether your mission boils down to families fed, children cared for, or policy research conducted, use this necessary communication to do more by painting a picture of how your donor has made the world a better place through last year’s gifts.
Yes, Go Ahead: Make Another Ask
No, it’s not too soon, it’s not the wrong place, to make that next ask! Your donors are full of plans and resolutions for the new year. This is a genuinely simpatico time to tap into that energy. The tax receipt letter is a great place to not only thank your donor, but it can also give them a sneak peek at your plans for the coming year—and how they can be a part of those exciting plans, namely by making another gift.
OK, maybe you don’t even ask for a specific amount. But at least include a “soft ask”—something along the lines of, “I hope you’ll consider another gift to continue this mission in the new year.”
Re-Activate Lapsed Donors
You can even send a tax receipt letter to those who haven’t given in the past year. Sometimes people stop giving for a while because of financial circumstances, but then those circumstances change. Or they just forget that they haven’t donated in a while. Seeing a big “0” where a donation amount should be—or reading, “I haven’t heard from you in a while”—is often the nudge a donor needs to give again.
Surely, it’s true for you, and therefore true for many donors: they do need to be nudged. The tax receipt is a great way to jog their memory and inspire them to reconnect with your mission—which is also their mission.
Remember, all humans are storytelling creatures. All your letters, even the humble tax receipt, should be tapping into this penchant and emotional hard-wiring. Use your tax statement to tell a story—a story of how your donor is a hero, or how he can become one again by partnering with you once more.
