One of the first things you can do in your Donor Management system to ensure success and save time is to build communication templates.
There are four distinct types of templates you can store and access in Donor Management. They are:
Email Blast - bulk email messages, sometimes called "eblasts"
Direct Mail - bulk letters, designed to be downloaded as PDFs, printed and sent in the mail. Labels may also be generated alongside Direct Mail pieces.
Donation acknowledgement - thank-you templates designed to be sent on an individual basis
Soft credit acknowledgement - thank-you templates designed to be sent to people who did not donate themselves, but they referred donors to donate to your organization
Ticket purchase acknowledgement - thank-you templates to be sent to people who bought tickets to an event
NOTE: These types of templates are not interchangeable, and will only work for the designated type of communication you are looking to send. (In other words, you cannot use an Email Blast template when trying to send a donation acknowlegement.)
Acknowledgements
After you build a campaign page to start collecting donations, you'll want to create a standard acknowledgment letter or email template so you can easily send off a thank-you to anyone who donates online or by check.
Go to Communications > Email Blasts or Direct Mail.
Click Templates.
Click Add Template in the upper right and select Donation Acknowledgement.
Follow instructions to create your email or direct mail donation acknowledgement template.
To send an acknowledgement, go to Giving and locate the gift you would like to acknowledge from your list.
Click the "not acknowledged" icon (pictured below) and select to Send Email or Write Letter to access your email or direct mail donation acknowledgement templates and send them to the given donor.
You can follow the same instructions as above for the soft credit acknowledgement and ticket purchase acknowledgement templates.
Email Blasts
Go to Communication > Email Blasts > Templates.
Select Add Template > Email Blasts.
Follow instructions to create a newsletter, invitation, or appeal template to use for future email communications.
Direct Mail
Go to Communication > Direct Mail > Templates.
Select Add Template > Direct Mail.
Follow instructions to create a Direct Mail template for your annual appeal, newsletter, year-end gift summary letters, or other bulk mailed communications.