What should a major gift donor recognition message include?

A strong major gift recognition message confirms the purpose of the gift, acknowledges the donor’s intent, describes impact, and states how recognition will appear (name format, location, timing) consistent with your naming policy.

Should we list major donors by giving level or alphabetically?

If you use giving levels, define level names and thresholds in policy and apply them consistently. Alphabetical within level is common for fairness and readability.

How do we handle anonymous major gifts on a donor wall?

Use a standard option such as “Anonymous” or “Anonymous (2)” and document the donor’s preferred anonymity level (public, internal, or time-bound) in the gift record.

Major Gifts Donor Recognition

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Major Gifts Donor Recognition

Plan your donor recognition experience

Get a walkthrough of touchscreen donor walls, donor trees, giving societies, and campaign progress displays.

Browse donor recognition templates

Live Example: Rocket Alumni Solutions Touchscreen Display

Interact with a live example (16:9 scaled 1920x1080 display). All content is automatically responsive to all screen sizes and orientations.

Intent: demonstrate

Major gifts require recognition that is specific enough to feel personal and standard enough to be governed. Use the copy + display rules below to thank a donor, confirm recognition expectations, and keep your donor wall consistent as gifts scale.

When to Use This

A donor makes a leadership gift and expects meaningful public recognition
You need a repeatable package for MGOs to send within 72 hours of commitment
Your stewardship committee wants a standard for name format, level placement, and timing

The recognition package (copy artifact)

Paste and customize:

SUBJECT: Thank you for your leadership gift to [Campaign/Fund Name]

Dear [Donor First Name],

Thank you for your generous commitment of $[Amount] to [Organization]. Your gift advances [impact statement tied to one program or facility] and helps [community served] experience [outcome].

To honor your leadership, we will recognize you as follows (aligned to our donor recognition and naming policy):

1) Public recognition name: [Full Name / Preferred Listing]
2) Recognition category: [Major Gifts / Campaign Leadership / Giving Level Name]
3) Recognition placement: DonorsWall interactive donor recognition display in [Location], and on our online donor wall at [URL if applicable]
4) Recognition timing: Listed within [X business days] after [gift agreement signed / first payment received], with updates as pledge payments are fulfilled

If you would like your recognition listing to be anonymous or adjusted (e.g., family name, foundation name, joint recognition), please reply with your preference and we will confirm in writing.

On behalf of [Organization], thank you for investing in [mission / outcome]. We’re grateful for your partnership.

With appreciation,
[Signature]
[Name], [Title]
[Phone] | [Email]

Display rules your team can adopt (so the wall stays clean)

Name format: Last, First (preferred) OR First Last; pick one and standardize.
Households: Define “The [Last Name] Family” rules; avoid ad hoc variations.
Organizations: Use legal entity names consistently; add “Foundation” / “Inc.” only when required.
Anonymous: Use “Anonymous” + optional count suffix (“Anonymous (3)”)—never guess.
Pledge status: Decide whether recognition triggers at commitment or at a defined payment threshold; document it.

DonorsWall implementation notes (make this use case feel premium)

Use dynamic giving tiers so leadership levels update once and propagate everywhere.
Pair major donors with impact story cards (photo/video) to move visitors from name-reading to mission-understanding.
Enable remote content management so MGOs can request corrections without reprinting.
Confirm ADA WCAG 2.1 AA patterns (contrast, text size, keyboard navigation) so the recognition is truly inclusive.