Fundraising Letters – Crafting Your Donation Request

Writing Donation Request Letters
Writing a fundraising letter is not that difficult However,
you need to know what works and what doesn’t before you invest
your time composing your donation request Fundraising letters
have some general rules of thumb:
Keep in mind whenever you are asking for money that you are
providing a service
Tell people what you’ve done and what you plan to do to achieve
progress toward your goals

Longer letters do better:
a) You can address all concerns and potential concerns
b) There are different kinds of readers – Long letters are OK
for all:
– Those that throw unopened envelope away – the length of
letter is irrelevant
– Those that read only beginning and ending – the length of
letter is irrelevant
– Skimmers can pick up more points from a longer letter
– Passionate readers love long letters

Make your fundraising letter compelling
Paragraphs and bullets should be no more than 3 sentences or
items; break longer ones in half

How to write a fundraising letter:
Deliver good news – Always start the letter with a series of
good news bullets to build momentum and make entire letter
entertaining and informative
- Use foreshadowing to tease reader and keep him or her reading
– Create a “widow” at the end of the first page (a thought
that’s finished on second page)
– Make your reader turn the page
Describe what you want to do next
– Tell what you’re going to do
– Why you’re going to do it
– How you’re going to do it
– What results you expect
List suggested contribution amounts
– Use even numbers in graduated amounts
– Offer a monthly auto charge credit card option ($10 a month
is $120 a year)
– Include a blank line for write-in amounts
Remind readers that their contribution is your budget
– Your successes have been possible because of their past
contributions
– Thank them!
Use PS’s for skimmers
– May titillate skimmers and get them to read the entire
letter
– To create a sense of urgency

Donation Letter Results
Expect results of $150 to $200 per letter mailed
Fundraising letters are easier to produce than newsletters and
you can share news and the same information If you can’t do
both a newsletter and a fundraising letter, it’s better to just
do the fundraising letter
Fundraising letters create a continuity of membership; the more
letters you send, the amount per person should go up
3% to 5% of people every month will respond
Regular fundraising letters will get people in the habit of
giving
Ask for a monthly pledge (100% of credit card pledges are
fulfilled; 70% of others are fulfilled)
Under promise results and over-deliver

Fundraising Letters – Final Tips
Be yourself – Write with your own personal voice and style
Make it personal and passionate – That’s the only way to really
connect with people
Grab their attention – Put a big, bold headline at the top of
your letter stating your case cause
Fundraiser Help: Fundraising Ideas for
Fundraisers

Tags | budget, bullets, donation, envelope, option, request, result, skimmers, unopened