Congratulations on your academic scholarship! Most Florida State University scholarships are made possible by
generous contributions from donors who believe that students like you can make a dierence in the world.
All students who receive a Foundation scholarship are required to write a thank you letter to the donor(s) of the
scholarship. Nothing is more welcome than a thoughtful note of thanks and an expression of your gratitude. A
well-written thank you letter reects favorably on you and is very meaningful to the donors. Your words remind
donors of their scholarship’s impact and conrm the value of their contributions.
e following ideas may help you structure a meaningful thank you letter.
TIPS FOR WRITING A THANK YOU LETTER
Thank the donor:
ank the donor for his or her generosity in providing the scholarship.
Include the scholarship name, as some donors give to more than one scholarship.
Since donors are not part of the scholarship recipient selection process, thank the
donor for making the gift possible, rather than for selecting you as the recipient.
Tell the donor about your present situation:
Include your major, anticipated year of graduation, etc.
List organizations in which you participate, including extracurricular or community
service work, as well as any internships that you are or will be pursuing.
Write about your classes and, in particular, what aspects you are enjoying.
Mention any recent accomplishments and achievements, including awards, prizes,
publications, research or poster sessions while in your program of study.
Tell the donor about yourself:
Include your hometown, family background and especially anything that may be
relevant to the scholarship.
Share high school and other experiences that led you to choose Florida State.
Mention any goals, interests and activities, both professional and academic.
If you are the rst person in your family to attend college, include this
information as well as any obstacles you’ve overcome to achieve this goal.
Talk about Florida State:
Your donor has invested in both you and Florida State University. Discuss your positive
experiences at FSU and explain why you choose to attend FSU.
Share your future plans:
Tell the donor what you hope to accomplish while at Florida State.
Include future goals, both immediate and long term, academic and professional.
Letters may be handwritten or typed. If
you choose to write your letter by hand,
please be sure that your writing is legible.
Be sure to use nice stationery or a nice
note card.
Do not date your letter.
Letters should be at least two paragraphs in
length. One page is usually enough.
Proofread carefully! Make sure your letter
is free of grammatical and spelling errors. A
well-written letter reects favorably on you,
the scholarship committee who selected
you and Florida State University.
Please do not send your thank you letter
in the body of an email. A printed email is
not an acceptable format for a thank you
letter. Provide your thank you letter as an
attachment to the email you send to the
college/unit/department.
Consider including your return address,
email and/or phone number at the top of
the letter so the donor may contact you if
he or she chooses.
Address your letter to the provided donor
contact name.
You must submit your thank you letter by
the date indicated on your Scholarship
Notication Letter from your college/
unit/department.
If there are multiple donors listed for your
award, either write a separate letter for each
contact or address your letter to all the
listed contacts.
If you receive a multiple-year award, please
write a new letter each year and update the
donor on your college career and progress.
Do not mention the scholarship amount in
your letter.
If you receive more than one scholarship
award, you must submit a thank you letter
for each award received.
Consider including a complementary
photograph of yourself with your letter.
Remember to sign your letter.
ADDITIONAL TIPS
TO CONSIDER:
