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Author: Kristenson, Joel
Last Updated: 2017-10-25
Overview
This article walks through the steps to thank donors for their donations, and “flag” them as thanked afterwards.
Tip: Prefer video? Click here to watch a short video on how to accomplish this task.
Steps
Navigate to the Thank You Letter – Contributions list.
This list will automatically populate with all donations that haven’t been marked as thanked. You can filter the list further with a search query by criteria such as amount, date, event, etc. In this example I had 9 records.
You can check and uncheck boxes in the first column for the donations you need to issue a thank-you receipt for.
Once the list you need is populated select File > Write Letter.
*If you have a letter that’s already saved as a template you can insert it by selecting File > Insert Template. In this example I typed out a new letter which I’ll save at the end after printing.
Compose your letter with your text, images, signature, spacing, etc. You can select the different merge fields you need for your letter from the Insert Merge Field… drop-down. Not all merge fields will work in the Thank You Letter list.
There are many merge fields you can utilize when writing these letters – these are a few of the common ones used for this type of letter:
· «MM/dd/yyyy»
· «FirstName»
· «LastName»
· «Home Address Block»
· «Amount Contribution»
· «Contribution Date»
Run a print preview by clicking [Print] > [Print Preview].
Page through the letters you’re printing to verify everything is accurate. You can adjust the page settings (margins, type of paper, etc.) if necessary by clicking the [Page Settings] button on the top tool bar.
If you need to make further changes to the letter you can click [Cancel] in the bottom-right. When you’re ready to print click the [Print] button, select which printer to use, and click [Print] to finish. Mail your letters – you can use Trail Blazer to print envelopes and labels as well.
After printing and mailing your letters, return back to your list of donations in the Thank You Letter – Contributions list, and click File > Set Thank You Sent…
Click [OK] to proceed with the update.
Click [OK] again when you’re prompted that the update is complete.
The list will reflect that the donations have been flagged as thanked and the thank-you date will be set to the date that you ran the mass update.
Reset the list (if you entered search criteria), and then click [Search] to refresh the list which will display any remaining ‘un-thanked’ donation records. In this example all 9 donations were thanked and the list dropped to zero.
Take a look at the related resources below for other articles and videos related to this topic.
Related Resources
Article: (Mail-Merge) – How to Write a Letter and Save it as a Template
Article: How to Print Envelopes
Article: How to Print Mail-Merge Address Labels
Article: Inserting Donation Transactions into a Mail-Merge Letter (Primarily for Nonprofits)
Article: How to Print Household Labels
Article: How to Track Soft Credits using Contribution Notifications – ONLY for Nonprofit Customers
Article: How to Create a Year-End Tax Letter Addressed to Individuals or the Entire Household using Merge Fields – Nonprofit Only
Video: Getting Started 107 – Writing Contribution Thank You Letters
Video: Year End Tax Letter
Video: Thank A Person Once For Multiple Contributions
Video: Donation Auto Responder with Merge Fields
Video: Write Letter – Edit Letter after Mail Merge
Video: Getting Started 106a – Entering Contributions (NON PROFIT ONLY)
Video Playlist: Letter Writing
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