Sample Thank You Letters

Use the sample letters below as a guide for writing your own thank you letters to Members of Congress and their staff. While the IRA charitable rollover, private foundation excise tax and the House and Senate Philanthropy Caucuses are highlighted in the samples, feel free to emphasize other issues that are relevant to your foundation like maintaining the charitable deducation rates and the low-profit limited liability companies (L3C) proposal. Please remember to FAX or E-MAIL your thank you letters to Representative and/or Senator’s DC office. Due to heightened security, it can take up to a month for members to receive letters sent via mail.

• Letter to Senator
• Letter to Senate Staffer
• Letter to Representative
• Letter to House Staffer
• Congressional Contact Information* congressional directories included in FOTH bags.

Thank You Letter to Senator

[If faxing, insert your foundation’s letterhead]

[Insert Date]

Dear Senator [insert last name]:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me and [insert names of other group members, if any] on March 25th while we were in Washington, DC for Foundations on the Hill. As constituents, we enjoyed talking with you about the good work of our foundations and our mutual interests in growing philanthropy in ways that both merit the public trust and effectively address the needs of our communities.

During the meeting, we discussed Senator Schumer's recent proposal of a revenue-neutral private foundation excise tax and the Senate Philanthropy Caucus. We urge you to sign on as a co-sponsor of the excise tax bill (S.676) and become a member of the Senate Philanthropy Caucus.

[This paragraph is optional] I would welcome the opportunity to arrange for you to visit our foundation when you are back home. We would like to share with you additional information and demonstrate first-hand how we are impacting our communities. I will be in touch with your district staff to work out a mutually convenient date.

Again, thank you for meeting with our group. Please feel free to contact me by phone (insert phone number) or e-mail (insert e-mail address) for additional information about our foundation or philanthropy in [insert state]. You are also welcome to contact the Council on Foundations in Arlington, VA at (703/879-0600) or the [insert regional association name] (insert regional association phone number).

Sincerely,

[Insert your full name. If e-mail, insert your full address as well.]

cc: [Insert full names of any staff members in your meeting]

Back to Top

Thank You Letter to Senate Staffer

[If faxing, insert your foundation’s letterhead]

[Insert Date]

Dear Mr./Ms. [Insert staff last name]:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me and [insert names of other group members, if any] on March 25th while we were in Washington, DC for Foundations on the Hill. As constituents of Senator [insert Senator's last name], we enjoyed talking with you about the good work of our foundations and our mutual interests in growing philanthropy in ways that both merit the public trust and effectively address the needs of our communities.

During the meeting, we discussed Senator Schumer's recent private foundation excise tax proposal and the Senate Philanthropy Caucus. We urge you to encourage Senator [insert Senator's last name]to sign on as a co-sponsor of the excise tax bill (S.676) and to become a member of the Senate Philanthropy Caucus.

Again, thank you for meeting with our group. Please feel free to contact me by phone (insert phone number) or e-mail (insert e-mail address) for additional information about our foundation or philanthropy in [insert state]. You are also welcome to contact the Council on Foundations in Arlingon, VA at (703/879-0600) or the [insert regional association name] (insert regional association phone number).

Sincerely,

[Insert your full name. If e-mail, insert your full address as well.]

Back to Top

Thank You Letter to Representative

[If faxing, insert your foundation’s letterhead]

[Insert Date]

Dear Representative [insert last name]:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me and [insert names of other group members, if any] on March 25th while we were in Washington, DC for Foundations on the Hill. As constituents, we enjoyed talking with you about the good work of our foundations and our mutual interests in growing philanthropy in ways that both merit the public trust and effectively address the needs of our communities.

During the meeting, we discussed the Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2009 and the Congressional Philanthropy Caucus. We urge you to sign on as a co-sponsor of the IRA Rollover (H.R.1250) and become a member of the philanthropy caucus.

[This paragraph is optional] I would welcome the opportunity to arrange for you to visit our foundation when you are back home. We would like to share with you additional information and demonstrate first-hand how we are impacting our communities. I will be in touch with your district staff to work out a mutually convenient date.

Again, thank you for meeting with our group. Please feel free to contact me by phone (insert phone number) or e-mail (insert e-mail address) for additional information about our foundation or philanthropy in [insert district number, community name, or region]. You are also welcome to contact the Council on Foundations in Arlington, VA at (703/879-0600) or the [insert regional association name] (insert regional association phone number).

Sincerely,

[Insert your full name. If e-mail, insert your full address as well.]

cc: [Insert full names of any staff members in your meeting]

Back to Top

Thank You Letter to House Staffer

[If faxing, insert your foundation’s letterhead]

[Insert Date]

Dear Mr./Ms. [Insert staff last name]:

Thank you for taking the time to meet with me and [other group members, if any] on March 25th while we were in Washington, DC for Foundations on the Hill. As constituents of Representative [insert last name], we enjoyed talking with you about the good work of our foundations and our mutual interests in growing philanthropy in ways that both merit the public trust and effectively address the needs of our communities.

During the meeting, we discussed the Public Good IRA Rollover Act of 2009 and the Congressional Philanthropy Caucus. We would appreciate it if Representative [insert Representative's last name] signs on as a co-sponsor of the IRA Rollover (H.R.1250) and joins the House Philanthropy Caucus.

Again, thank you for meeting with our group. Please feel free to contact me by phone (insert phone number) or e-mail (insert e-mail address) for additional information about our foundation or philanthropy in [insert district number, community name, or region]. You are also welcome to contact the Council on Foundations in Arlington, VA at (703/879-0600) or the [insert regional association name] (insert regional association phone number).

Sincerely,

[Insert your full name. If e-mail, insert your full address as well.]

Back to Top