Anonymous wrote:Yes. An email, a card in the mail and a receipt for taxes that also said TY.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Devil's advocate here. I work in development (not in a private school), and while we always send thank yous to donors who direct contributions from DAFs, the paperwork that comes from some of these is murky and in some instances makes it sound as if no thank you should be sent. We know of course, that there's nothing wrong with ever saying thank you, but it can be confusing. Remember, that money was not yours. You gave it to a DAF and got your deduction. Now you can say where you want it to go, in most cases, but it wasn't yours anymore. Just another point of view. DAFs are the scourge of fundraisers.

This. I have a role in this for a volunteer org and I'm confused by DAF's.


But generally support the org or don't. Don't a demanding jerk over a TYs that are not need for tax purposes.

Anonymous wrote:Devil's advocate here. I work in development (not in a private school), and while we always send thank yous to donors who direct contributions from DAFs, the paperwork that comes from some of these is murky and in some instances makes it sound as if no thank you should be sent. We know of course, that there's nothing wrong with ever saying thank you, but it can be confusing. Remember, that money was not yours. You gave it to a DAF and got your deduction. Now you can say where you want it to go, in most cases, but it wasn't yours anymore. Just another point of view. DAFs are the scourge of fundraisers.

Anonymous wrote:Devil's advocate here. I work in development (not in a private school), and while we always send thank yous to donors who direct contributions from DAFs, the paperwork that comes from some of these is murky and in some instances makes it sound as if no thank you should be sent. We know of course, that there's nothing wrong with ever saying thank you, but it can be confusing. Remember, that money was not yours. You gave it to a DAF and got your deduction. Now you can say where you want it to go, in most cases, but it wasn't yours anymore. Just another point of view. DAFs are the scourge of fundraisers.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Devil's advocate here. I work in development (not in a private school), and while we always send thank yous to donors who direct contributions from DAFs, the paperwork that comes from some of these is murky and in some instances makes it sound as if no thank you should be sent. We know of course, that there's nothing wrong with ever saying thank you, but it can be confusing. Remember, that money was not yours. You gave it to a DAF and got your deduction. Now you can say where you want it to go, in most cases, but it wasn't yours anymore. Just another point of view. DAFs are the scourge of fundraisers.

OP here. We use our DAF for numerous donations to large and small organizations and always get a thank you letter. When I submit the grant request, I always make sure to check the box that indicates they will put full name and address of donors. We have gotten thank you notes for donations as small as $200 from this fund.

Anonymous wrote:Devil's advocate here. I work in development (not in a private school), and while we always send thank yous to donors who direct contributions from DAFs, the paperwork that comes from some of these is murky and in some instances makes it sound as if no thank you should be sent. We know of course, that there's nothing wrong with ever saying thank you, but it can be confusing. Remember, that money was not yours. You gave it to a DAF and got your deduction. Now you can say where you want it to go, in most cases, but it wasn't yours anymore. Just another point of view. DAFs are the scourge of fundraisers.

Anonymous wrote:Always. 100%.

We don't care but not getting one is just REALLY shoddy and poor business practice.
There are donors who will cease to give if they do not receive acknowledgement.

Anonymous wrote:So this is the second year we have donated to our school's annual fund. Both years we made a $1500 donation through our donor advised fund. Last year we never received a thank you from the school and this year it has been a month since the check cleared and again, we haven't gotten any acknowledgement.

Last year I did reach out to the development office, just to make sure the check got into the right hands, and they were apologetic about not sending the acknowledgement. I sense this will be another year of the same situation of no letter of thanks.

It's not that we need a letter for taxes, but we are just feeling under appreciated at this point and don't feel very motivated to donate again in future years.

I realize in the scheme of things, our donation isn't a huge one compared to large donors, but it is certainly more than the suggested donation in the appeal.

For what it's worth, when we donate to my husband's alma mater, we not only get a letter from the school, but we also get a phone call from a student, which is a very nice touch.