Please take some time to put thought into your thank you note as they will be read by donors, their family members, staff/faculty members affiliated with the scholarship/fellowship fund and the public.
Occasionally, we use student letters or excerpts from student letters in presidential speeches and letters, publications, brochures, marketing collateral, etc., to help increase support for financial scholarship gifts. If you do not want any part of your letter used for these purposes, please let us know. Otherwise, we assume permission to use your letter as mentioned previously. Thank you!
Thank-You Note Contents
Who do you address the letter to?
Please refer to the email you received, which includes the name of your scholarship. If you have more than one scholarship listed, then we need a thank you letter for each scholarship. You can use the same letter, but please change the salutation for each scholarship.
Who are you?
Write briefly about your background and your family (i.e., Are you the first to go to college in your family?)
Why did you choose Santa Clara University?
Why did you choose your major(s)/minor(s)?
Your professional aspirations and career plans
What academic/extracurricular activities are you participating in (on and off campus) to prepare yourself to achieve your career/personal goals and to enhance your SCU experience?
Your appreciation to the donor for their generosity
How the scholarship/fellowship impacted you personally and in terms of achieving your educational goals?
What was made possible with the scholarship/fellowship?
Your accomplishments this school year and/or that you're most proud of
Positive experiences you have gained from SCU and/or after receiving the scholarship/fellowship
DO NOT REPEAT CONTENT if you have written to the donor in previous years. If you have written to the donor in previous years, now woud be a great time to consider submitting a short thank you video using the One Day phone app. Please contact us if you would like to do so and we can either schedule a time or send you the template to do it yourself.
Format and Mechanics
Write in FIRST PERSON narrative
DO NOT date your letter. Some donors give scholarships to many students, and we send the thank-you letters to them all at one time.
In some cases, the Office of Donor Relations will provide you with the donor's name. If available, use your donor's formal name in the salutation.
If not available, please address your letter to "Dear Donors of (list named scholarship received)."
Use spell check and grammar check tools.
PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD! PROOFREAD!
Ask a friend or family member to proofread your letter. It is always good to have a second set of eyes to look over your writing.
REMINDER: Please complete the second step, Scholarship Recipient Profile and Thank You Submission Form.
Sample Letter
- Download Sample Thank Letter (PDF)
Contact
Kelly De Leon-Lopez
Assistant Director of Donor Relations for Scholarships
Office of Development
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053
Phone: 408.554.2322
E-mail: kdeleonlopez@scu.edu