Writing a Thank You Letter
Many of the scholarships awarded by ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ are funded thanks to generous donations from donors who believe in the value of education and want to give back to our institution and our community. Showing your own generosity by writing them a heartfelt letter of appreciation will remind them of why they gave in the first place and, perhaps, inspire them to help students following in your footsteps.
Here are a few things to keep in mind while you are composing your letter.
Begin by thinking about what receiving the scholarship means to you and how you plan to succeed with the donor's help.
Your first paragraph should state the purpose of your letter and the scholarship you received. Try using these sentence starters to help compose your letter:
- I am writing to thank you for…
- I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for…
- I am honored to be one of the recipients of…
- I am overjoyed…
- I am so grateful for...
- I wish to thank you for…
- I want to express my thanks to you for…
- When I received this gift, I felt…
Share a little about yourself and why the scholarship is important to you and your commitment to succeed with the donor’s help.
- I have just begun my college career and can already report…
- My plans at this time are to…
- I am thankful for this gift because it will allow me to…
- The reason I appreciate this gift is…
- I am delighted to inform you…
- My lifelong dream is to…
- Thanks to you, I can…
- Since receiving this scholarship, I…
- Your scholarship helped me…
Other things to consider sharing with your donor in this paragraph:
- Your hometown
- Family background
- Why you chose ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½
- Educational goals
- What you enjoy about ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½
- Organizations you belong to
- Internships
- Future plans
- Post-graduation plans
- Career plans
Thank the donor again and commit to doing the best you can while at ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½.
- What I like best about this gift is…
- I am thankful for this gift because…
- I am forever grateful that you…
- Again, thank you for…
- Thank you again for…
- I really appreciate…
- Again, thank you for your generosity. I promise I will…
Your letter should not be longer than 2,000 characters. ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½’s University Writing Center can assist you in making sure that your letter is clear and concise in content and professional in appearance; they are located at the ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ Library, room 227.
Here are same examples of what your letter may look like:
