At World Vision, one of America’s largest charities, donor billing statements are more than just a receipt.

“With pretty much every sponsorship statement that we send out, we will show a story from the field of sponsorship dollars at work,” says Karl Nelson, the nonprofit’s executive director of sponsorship.

These statements might be the piece of mail from World Vision that donors open the most, says Mr. Nelson. Not taking advantage of them for engagement or further donations means a lost opportunity.

Donors who give via check receive a monthly statement asking for payment. Supporters who pay automatically via credit card or a direct payment from their bank account receive a quarterly statement that details their pledge amount and summarizes the charges the charity has made in the past three months.

Each statement comes in an envelope with a letter from the charity’s president. The mailing that went out before Christmas in 2014 also included a suggestion to make an additional gift around the holiday.

“I think a mistake that a lot of charities make is that they do not take proper advantage of those statements,” Mr. Nelson says. “They treat them as ‘get it out the door and tell the donors what we’ve done,’ but they don’t include any affirmations, any thank yous, any impact reporting, or, quite frankly, any additional ask for more giving.”

He adds: “Sponsors are delighted to trust us with the money, but at some point over time they want to see a sense of the impact that their donations have made.”

The nonprofit has 750,000 child sponsors supporting about 950,000 children at $35 per child each month. Tens of thousands of additional donors give monthly at lower levels, supporting causes like clean water and anti-hunger programs.

ADVERTISEMENT

Although World Vision sends most of the billing statements through the mail, sponsors who request electronic statements receive emails that include a link donors can click to see their statements online.