Pledge Reminder Letters: The Complete Guide and Best Practices (2024 Update)

Table of Contents 

• Introduction
• What is a pledge reminder letter?
• Messaging consistency
• Pledge reminder content
• Specify pertinent information
• Make it easy to give
• Leveraging your CRM to support pledge reminders
• Methods for sending pledge reminders

Introduction

Pledge reminders, communications reminding a donor about their philanthropic commitment, can make the difference of thousands, sometimes millions of dollars for an organization. Organizations that raise a significant portion of revenues in pledges know that they can rely on a predictable stream of incoming cash flow. However, that strategy requires a clear communication plan including pledge acknowledgments, pledge payment receipts, and, most importantly, pledge payment reminder letters.

There are many ways to send pledge reminders including paper mail, email, or via text. Despite the many options for sending this reminder, pledge commitment and payment-due reminders can be tricky and even awkward, especially when engaging with higher-profile donors. How do you say, “Hey, it’s time to make good on the gift you promised us!” in a kind, respectful manner? It all comes down to donor experience. Here are a few tips you can use for developing and deploying effective pledge reminder letters.

Pledge commitment and payment-due reminders can be tricky and even awkward, especially when engaging with higher-profile donors.  So here are a few tips you can use for developing and utilizing effective pledge reminder letters.

What is a Pledge Reminder Letter?

A pledge reminder letter is a note typically sent to donors who have pledged a contribution to a nonprofit organization and plan to make defined installment payments over a specified period of months or years. Reminder letters are also often used for donors who have agreed to make smaller gift commitments earlier via a phonathon or peer-to-peer outreach campaign and need a reminder to make a payment.

Because pledge commitments, especially major gift pledges, can span the course of months or even years, there may be a lengthy period of time from the donor’s commitment and the organization’s first expression of gratitude until the last payment is made. Reminder letters about the pledge commitment and how the pledged funds will be used are helpful to show ongoing gratitude, to keep pledge-donors aware of your mission, and also to ensure they follow through with their regularly scheduled payments.

Unfortunately, the reality is that not every pledge commitment will be fulfilled. Regardless of genuine donor intent, there may be factors that prevent some pledge-donors from following through. A gentle pledge reminder letter will keep the original commitment top of mind, even if the payment period ends up being extended.

Why pledge reminders matter

Pledge reminders are a courtesy. When a donor makes a commitment to give, a large amount of money to a fund over the course of several years, it’s easy to forget when exactly they should make the payment or how many payments they have left. This is especially true for donors who have multi-year commitments at several organizations. In addition, many donors make gifts through third parties including community foundations and charitable annuity funds, which require some administrative steps. By providing a pledge reminder in advance of a payment due date, your organization give donors the lead time they need to fulfill their obligations.

Pledge reminders are also a way to ensure payment. Without the nudge, some donors may forget or renege on a gift agreement. With the right messaging, your team can walk the line between kindness and clearness in your request for a pledge fulfillment.

Pledge Reminder Letters vs. Solicitation Letters

Pledge reminder letters are not the same as solicitation letters. While the two are often trying to achieve a similar tactical objective – obtaining a payment from a donor – they have distinctly different intentions. Solicitation letters, also known as appeals, are typically utilized to secure initial support for an initiative. Pledge reminders are requests pertaining to existing donation commitments and are intended to prompt donors to make another payment towards their current obligation.

Pledge Reminder Best Practices

When it comes to writing a powerful and effective pledge reminder, there are some critical aspects you’ll want to focus on to motivate your donors. Here are things to keep in mind when writing a pledge payment reminder letter:

1) Make your messaging consistent

No matter how an individual interacts with your nonprofit, your goal should be to ensure they are receiving a consistent experience. Whether a supporter reads an email message, shares a social media post, or networks with staff members at your events, the tone and talking points they hear should not differ so much as to cause confusion. Pledge reminders are intended for individuals who have already bought into your mission, but they also serve as an opportunity to refresh your donors on your mission, impact, and gratitude for their support.

Depending on your relationship with the donor, you may determine that keeping the message informal is a wise approach. Although you may use a pledge reminder template, try not to make the letter appear too plug-and-play-looking. Donors want to be treated like individuals, not just name on a list. Try infusing personalization based on donor information you already have. For example, use the donor’s preferred salutation, reference a recent interaction or event they attended, discuss a recent newsletter, cause, or program that you know resonates.

Keep kindness in mind with your communications. Avoid using pledge reminders as invoices or collection letters. Donors are generally not obligated to give, and you never want to risk your relationship by appearing demanding or insensitive. A donor may fall behind on their payments. When done correctly, pledge reminders are a good – and unobtrusive – way to help make sure their commitments are eventually fulfilled.

2) Be Clear: Get Straight to the Point

Remember that when it comes to writing a letter to donors, it’s essential to capture the reader’s attention, otherwise your carefully crafted message will go straight into the trash. Don’t hide the reminder in a lengthy written update on the organization. In most cases, your pledge reminder should aim to get to the point as quickly as possible, while leading with your ongoing gratitude.

If you do decide to send a more substantial reminder letter, make the pledge reminder its own separate section, with a proper title, and all the pertinent information for making a payment.

3) Specify All the Pertinent Pledge Information

Another important consideration when writing pledge reminder letters is to make them easily digestible for your reader. Make sure you are providing the essential components of a remainder including:

• Their total pledged amount
• The amount due
• The due date for the next installment payment
• The amount paid so far, including dates of previous payments
• Future installment dates
• Specific programs or fundraising efforts that this pledge and its payments are supporting

This information is relevant because it establishes a sense of urgency while also demonstrating just how much their generosity is contributing toward your mission. It should be a clear. Share the exact amount they should pay and when. Ultimately, you want your donors to understand how by completing their pledge payments they are a part of something significant; and you want to convey that their donations truly matter.

4) Make it Easy

Now that you’ve gotten your donors’ attention, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to make a payment.

First, give your donors enough time to submit their payment. Typically, 30 days in advance should be enough time, but some organizations will deliver a soft reminder at the 90-day or 60-day mark. Include a reply envelope and referencing an online payment-portal website link.

Next, communicate the different ways donors can pay since they may find one method more convenient for them than another. Many will continue to give as they always have but letting them know their options may make it easier for them to pay on time. For example, you may come across several donors who have historically written checks, but after providing a link and information on how to pay via credit card payments online, your donors may opt to use that service for future pledge payments (and new gifts).

5) When and How to Follow Up

There will always be donors who miss their payment dates despite receiving their reminder letters. How often you follow up with these donors is up to you, but it’s important to stay on top of these individuals in a kind and caring way. Be respectful, empathetic, and sensitive to the fact that life happens, occasionally causing donors to fall behind on their payments.

If you’ve done 30-, 60-, and 90-day reminders and still have donors who have not made their expected payment, consider sending pledge reminder follow-ups on a quarterly basis to those whose payments are overdue. This is frequent enough to routinely keep up with these donors but avoids the perception of being overbearing.

6) Leveraging Your Main CRM Database to Support Pledge Reminders

If pledges are an important source of fundraising revenue for your organization, you should take advantage of the pledge reminder functionality in your main CRM database – such as Raiser’s Edge NXT, Altru, Salesforce NPSP, and Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud. Any of these popular nonprofit CRMs can support pledge collection by recording pledge and payment schedules are recorded correctly, and the proper data are grabbed for creating your pledge reminders. If you use other applications to record pledge commitments and online payments, it’s imperative that you integrate that data into your main CRM system so that payment information is not only up to date, but properly attributed to the right donor, and as payment on an existing pledge rather than recorded as a new gift.

Different Methods of Sending Pledge Reminders

Sending letters by mail is still very effective, but in today’s world, nonprofits aren’t restricted to engaging with their donors exclusively through the mail, and the fact is that not every donor will respond in the same way as others when they get a reminder letter in their mailbox.

Here are a few different ways you can remind your donors about their upcoming payments:

Crafting Effective Pledge Reminder Letters

Many pledge reminders are still sent via conventional mail, and it is still a very effective method of communication. There’s no sense in messing with a classic if it continues to work for you. These letters should include a level of personalization: be sure to include your donors’ preferred names, salutations, and primary address.

Opting for Pledge Reminder Emails

As more people embrace digital technology, email pledge reminders have started to surpass traditional mail as the primary communication channel. Because email messages can include a direct link to a payment portal, it’s easier for a donor reading a reminder email message to click and pay on the spot. Email reminders may need less lead time than a traditional mail version. Emails too should have a personal element. If you can send them on behalf of a specific staff member at your organization who has a relationship with your donor, it can improve open rates.

Sending Text Message (SMS) Pledge Reminders

If you’re concerned with how many of your donor will open their reminder letters or email messages, sending reminders via text message may be worth considering. According to a study by Dynmark, email typically has a 20% open rate, while SMS messages have a 98% open rate. Chances are very high that if your donor has a mobile phone that can receive SMS messages, they’re probably going to read your pledge reminder message faster than a letter or an email message. The downside with SMS messages is a weariness for spam – donors may be hesitant to click a link from an unknown sender. Be sure to include specifics about your organization, their pledge designation, and pledged amount so they can be sure this is a legitimate reminder, and not a scam.

Whichever method you use, always aim to follow the preferences of your donor and be sure you have their permission to send communication via email and SMS if advisable.

Conclusion

These pledge reminder best-practices can help ensure your nonprofit is continuing to collect the payments to which your donors have committed. To help you tackle pledge reminder letters, keep in mind these key takeaways:

• Remember what differentiates pledge reminders from solicitation letters
• Avoid sounding too impersonal or templated
• Get straight to the point
• Always be grateful – stewardship, stewardship, stewardship!
• Make it easy for donors to make a payment
• Follow-up when necessary without appearing overbearing
• Use your database’s functionality to make reminder processing as accurate and as easy as possible, and ensure your data are current, so you know which donors have or have not made their pledge payments

One final consideration: Organizations today use so many different platforms and applications – not just for pledge and payment processes, but across the board. Data collected and residing in these various systems can support your pledge reminder and pledge collection endeavors, so be sure that data integration is a top priority. It’s not just about importing new pledges and ensuring that imported online payment transactions are properly attributed. It’s also about name, address, phone number, and email updates that get recorded first in other systems. And it’s about recent donor interactions – such as event attendance or program participation – recorded in other systems that can be used in pledge reminder correspondence. Using nonprofit cloud integration software can help to automate these updates in your main CRM database.