Gratitude in Fundraising: Do 'Thank You in Advance' and Handwritten Thank-You Notes Impact Fundraising Success?

Maja Adena, Steffen Huck and Levent Neyse
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Maja Adena: WZ Berlin, TU Berlin
Levent Neyse: WZB Berlin, DIW Berlin

No 547, Rationality and Competition Discussion Paper Series from CRC TRR 190 Rationality and Competition

Abstract: While almost all charities rely on a set of donor appreciation strategies, their effectiveness for the success of fundraising campaigns is underresearched. Through two preregistered field studies conducted in collaboration with a leading German opera house (N=10,000), we explore the significance of expressing gratitude and examine two different approaches to doing so. Our first study investigates the impact of a "thank you in advance" statement in fundraising letters, a common strategy among fundraisers. In the second study, we explore the effectiveness of handwritten thank-you postcards versus printed postcards, shedding light on the roles of personalization and handwriting in donor appeals. Our findings challenge conventional wisdom, revealing that neither “thank you in advance” nor handwritten thank-you notes significantly affect donor contributions.

Keywords: fundraising; charitable giving; gratitude; field experiment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-10-07
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Working Paper: Gratitude in Fundraising: Do "Thank You in Advance" and Handwritten Thank-You Notes Impact Fundraising Success? (2025)
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