A gift acknowledgment is a piece of correspondence that recognizes that a gift was received, and has information (such as the date the gift was received, the organization’s EIN, and the amount received) that the donor can use for tax purposes. It is a box to be checked.

Don’t get me wrong, acknowledgments are important. Timeliness of sending acknowledgements is key as well - donors who receive an acknowledgement that is sent within 48 hours of the organization receiving the gift are 4 times more likely to give again (according to Candid/GuideStar). Having a good system in place for sending acknowledgements is key to retaining donors. I know that when I send a donation to an organization, I am reassured to know that it was seen by a human and put to good use.

Well, okay it is. But not the way you think it is. Many surveys show that the number one reason people don’t give to an organization is that they are not asked. That is very true – although some folks do give completely unsolicited gifts (what you might think of as ‘out of the blue’), it is hard to build a budget around these gifts.

The purpose of fundraising is to bring in revenue that will enhance the services that a nonprofit can offer its beneficiaries. In other words, nonprofits can do more good work with more money in the door.