Gratitude in fundraising: do ‘thank you in advance’ and handwritten thank you notes impact fundraising success?
通过两项实地实验（N=10,000），研究了筹款信中“提前感谢”和手写感谢卡对捐赠金额的影响，发现这两种策略均未显著提升捐赠效果。
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 thankyou 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.