RESEARCH GRANT
THANK YOU LETTERS
Congratulations on your award:
Please address your letter to:
Don and Kay Cash
Graduate Research Grant
in
Visual & Performing Arts
Mr. and Mrs. Cash
c/o Professor Andrew Martin, Interim
Dean
College of Visual & Performing Arts
MS 5060
Our donors enjoy contact with the students
they assist and like to know that their gifts are
making a positive difference. Therefore, we
ask you to write a thank you letter.
Provide your letter to the office of the dean,
who will then forward it to the donors. Your
thoughtful participation is crucial if we are to
maintain similar possibilities for our graduate
students in the future.
CONTENTS OF A THANK YOU
FORM FOR A THANK YOU
Tell about your present situation.
 Classification and major at TTU;
educational focus (i.e., more
detailed than stating your major).
 Your career goals.
 Ways in which your creative /
research accomplishments
advance those goals.
 Typed or word-processed letters are encouraged. If
hand-writing, neatness and legibility are matters of
reciprocal courtesy: after all, the donor has already
taken the time and care to give.
 Be sure your printer has fresh ink or a new ribbon. If
hand-writing, use a blue or black pen.
 Correct all technical errors and grammatical mistakes.
We communicate about ourselves through our use of
language and through the appearance of our written
materials (among varied means of communication).
Run a spelling and grammar check. If necessary,
have a colleague scrutinize and correct the final draft.
 Whether printing or hand-writing, use 8.5” x 11” typing
paper or good-quality, light-colored stationery. Ruled
notebook paper is not appropriate.
 Include your return address (mailing and e-mail) on the
thank you letter.
 Refer to the name of the grant in your letter.
 Use a formal mode of address in salutation and
letter.
Tell about your award.
 Describe your project.
 Explain its relationship to your
degree program & requirements.
 Explain what you’ve learned
from the project.
 Explain its significance in terms
of the profession.
Tell how the research grant has
helped you.
 Briefly restate professional
impact of the grant.
 Do not mention the specific
dollar amount of the award.
These guidelines to content and form will facilitate your
creation of an articulate, attractive thank you letter.
For ideas about what to say, refer to the template printed on the reverse.
TEMPLATE
Date
My Name
Local Mailing Address
Lubbock, TX 794_ _
my.name@ttu.edu
Mr. and Mrs. Cash
c/o Professor Andrew Martin, Interim Dean
College of Visual & Performing Arts
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Cash:
1. Opening:
 Identify reason for writing (might be a general statement of gratitude)
 Identify award received: Don and Kay Cash Graduate Research Grant in Visual & Performing Arts
o Can include degree program and major
2. Identify your current situation and goals:
o Optional: can explain factors that led you to graduate studies
 Specify degree program and major if you haven’t already done so
 Identify career goals
 Explain specific research / creative interests and accomplishments at TTU, together with how these
advance progress toward your goals
3. Link award to your professional education:
 Describe project and its relationship to completion of degree requirements (i.e., immediate creative
impact)
 If appropriate, explain how the Don and Kay Cash Graduate Research Grant allowed you to leverage
additional funding obtained through your department and/or the Graduate School (i.e., pragmatic learning
process)
 Explain the significance of your project to the profession and to your emerging professional reputation
(i.e., long-term professional impact)
4. Express your incredible gratitude for the generous support you’ve received:
 Briefly reiterate impact of the award on your educational & professional life
o Can include generalized reference to graduate student financial obligations / situation
o Can restate name of award
 Directly state your thanks
Closing,
Signature
My Printed Name