Scholarship Thank You Letter Tips

Scholarships are made possible through generous donations.  A well-written thank you letter is important way to acknowledge the funding you received and gives the donor the opportunity to learn about you. The following tips and sample letter may be helpful for writing your own thank you letter.

Tips for writing your thank you letter:

• Include your mailing address and email address if you would like to give the donor the opportunity to respond.
• Do not date your letter.
• Do not include the amount of the scholarship you received.
• Begin your letter with Dr., Ms., Mr. or Mrs., as appropriate, and as indicated in your award notice. Do not address the individual only by his/her/their first name. Only use “Dear Donor” or “Dear Benefactor” in cases where the notification letter instructs you to do so, such as when writing to an anonymous donor.
• Acknowledge the scholarship you have received by referencing the full name. Do not state the obvious, such as “My name is Bob Smith and I am a student at Penn State.”
• Do not assume that the donor's political, religious, spiritual, or cultural viewpoints and/or preferences are the same as yours. Be considerate in your letters about your insights and the insights and beliefs of others.
• Proofread and keep it concise!
• What if you received funding from the same donor(s) in previous years?
  First, write an entirely NEW letter. Let the donor(s) know what you accomplished this year and how their funding helped make that possible. If you have met with them, make a reference to that meeting and thank them for taking the time to meet with you. In other words, personalize the letter!

Sample Letter Format

Address

Bob Smith
1 Campus Road
University Park, PA 16802
email@psu.edu

Greeting

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Jones,

Introduction

I am honored to be the recipient of The Jones Family Scholarship for Academic Excellence. Thank you so much for your kind generosity to Penn State and the university community. 

Body of the letter

Think about who you are writing to! Tell the donor about the specific ways in which their support has helped you reach your professional and educational goals. Did the money allow you to take advantage of an internship? Study abroad? Perform research? Did the support help your family deal with difficult financial burdens? Did the award help validate your course of study or help you remain in a course of study that resulted in your major, or different career plans? Even if the amount of support was only a part of what was needed, can you comment on how successful a year you have had, and how the support had something to do with it? Tell the donor about you as a person. What are your interests and goals (inside and outside the classroom)? Where are you from? Why is Penn State important to you, how has it influenced you?

Closing

Tell the donor about the impact of their gift today and as you see it potentially affecting your future. What are your plans after graduation? Are you starting a job, going to graduate school, or volunteering? Are you traveling, moving to a specific place, or starting a family? Even if graduation is still a ways off, what do you hope will happen, and how have your academic plans been shaped by the aid of the donor(s)?

Sincerely,
Bob Smith

Ready to submit your letter? Visit the scholarship thank you letter submission form.