How To Write Letter To Group Asking For Money

If yous piece of work in a nonprofit, y'all're probably human knee-deep in crafting your donation messages.

But the question is: how do you get your donation letter to stand out from the crowd?

Truth be told, everything from your intended audience to your donation alphabetic character format matters if y'all want to attract donors.

So, in this mail, I'k breaking down how to write a donation letter.

I'll as well highlight two stellar nonprofit donation letters, and provide you with a template and some all-time practices to help you along your letter-writing journey.

If y'all'd like to skip down to the template, click here. Otherwise, read on!

fundraising ebook

Why: The Purpose of Donation Messages

Donation letters, also known as appeals, are a tool nonprofits use to entice prospective supporters to donate. Most of the time, they include a written inquire for either financial support or an in-kind gift.

Although they're adequately short and don't necessarily have the depth of your typical pamphlet or other marketing materials, donation letters address the specific need a nonprofit is trying to meet. Many as well include basic information about overall organizational touch and acknowledge a donor's past philanthropic efforts, much similar you'd include on your donation website.

In a nutshell, donation letters are meant to inform your donors near your efforts and ultimately encourage donations.

Who: Individual vs. Corporate Appeals

Fundraising letters generally autumn into two separate categories: individual and corporate appeals. Wondering what the difference is — and why it matters? Read on!

Individual Appeals

You know those messages you receive in the mail from March of Dimes, the ASPCA, and the World Wildlife Fund? Those are individual appeals!

Equally the name suggests, individual appeals are donation letters directed to individual donors. This category as well includes couples and families who requite collectively.

Individual appeals are personalized to a donor or family and ordinarily asking a one-time or recurring gift. Appeals can exist geared for everyday donations, or for a specific campaign, depending on your nonprofit's needs.

Corporate Appeals

Nonprofits send corporate appeals to local, national, and international pocket-sized, medium, and large businesses. Although the audience is unlike, corporate donation letters are structured similarly to individual appeals.

The difference between them lies in what it is you're asking for. Many nonprofits write corporate donation messages to asking in-kind donations (meals for an upcoming charity event, souvenir certificates for a raffle), collect employee gift matches, or inquire for a sponsorship.

For example, if you want to supply pizza for a volunteer give thanks-y'all party and are looking for a local pizza parlor to provide the pizza in-kind, you'd write a corporate entreatment.

This blazon of donation letter often focuses more than heavily on the benefit to the organization donating and how information technology helps their business organization goals. For the example above, yous could say that your volunteers volition now recognize the pizza parlour who donated, and will be more than likely to eat there in the futurity.

When: Ideal Times to Create and Transport

Whether you work at a small, hyper-local nonprofit or an international organisation, it'due south of import to create fundraising appeals for each fundraising campaign.

Nonetheless, at that place are a few very important questions you need to think through earlier you lot begin distributing appeals.

How many letters should you send? It'due south up to you lot to determine how many letters are right for yous. If y'all don't know where to kickoff, aim for around three fundraising letters (or emails) for campaigns upward to thirty days. Naturally, longer campaigns demand more letter touchpoints.
How often should you lot send them? Ship the correspondence either right before starting time or by the first day of the campaign. Follow upwards with some other alphabetic character halfway through the entrada, and and so again during the last days/calendar week. Speed upwards or irksome downward your frequency depending on past donor trends. For example, if the vast majority of your donors give during the kickoff few days of the campaign when momentum is high, cluster your correspondence accordingly.
How should you distribute them? The advice throughout this mail service works equally well for emails or messages. Depending on your target audience, y'all may choose to ship one or the other, or a mixture of both.
When is the all-time time? Understanding (and tracking) your donor's beliefs is vital if you desire to know the ideal time to transport out communications. Hint: this is where donor and membership management software comes in handy!
- If you're sending appeals online through email or on social media, use your data analytics (Google, Facebook) to track when people open your emails and engage with you online.
- If you're sending appeals through direct mail, ensure each slice is postmarked and mailed before your fundraising deadlines.

At the terminate of the 24-hour interval, you need to consider how long your campaign lasts, the response rate of your typical donor, and your urgency when you lot craft a donation letter of the alphabet program.

Read More: 5 Year-End Fundraising Emails That Are Sure to Increase Donations

How: Putting it all Together

Donation letter content varies from one nonprofit to the next, and for each fundraising campaign you run, merely the core elements remain the same. These include:

Header: Include your nonprofit'due south proper noun and branded logo if y'all have ane.

Nonprofit Contact Data: Include your physical address and phone number. Listing a contact person, nonprofit website, and email address, although helpful, is optional.

Engagement: Include the date when you plan to postal service/e-mail the alphabetic character.

Donor Salutation: Accost your donor past their preferred proper noun. Decide whether you lot prefer a formal salutation such as " Dear Mr. and Mrs. Richard Smith," or a more breezy one like "Hi Rick."

Acknowledgement of Donor Relationship: At the first of your letter, admit your relationship with the donor. Understandably, this is hard if you're working with a donor base of hundreds, if not thousands. If yous don't have the time or capacity to personalize each letter, segment your donors based on how you interact with them: lapsed donor, current donor, volunteer, lath member, etc.

A simple, "You've been a big part of our organization's fabric over the years. We tin can't thank you enough for your support as a donor, and a frequent volunteer" is a solid start to a giving donation letter considering it lets your donor know that yous appreciate their past commitments.

Nonprofit Story: Your story is the hook that connects your reader to your mission on an emotional level.

For your donation letter, your story should follow this format:

The Need: Explain the need your nonprofit addresses. Feel free to throw a statistic out in that location, but put your main focus on who or what is in demand of aid. Tell the story of a family sheltered from winter winds at your soup kitchen, or the animal in need of a forever abode.
The Solution: Subsequently writing about the need, outline the solution. What is the ideal event? Describe what information technology looks similar when your nonprofit succeeds.
The Hero: Every story needs a hero: someone who makes the alter happen. Yep, your nonprofit is doing much of the work, but it'south all because of your donor's support. Make your donor the hero of the story every fourth dimension.

Read More: An Introduction to Nonprofit Storytelling

Call-to-Action: Yous're sending this alphabetic character to bring in donations, then reinforce that message! At the end of your donation letter, write a articulate, direct telephone call-to-action, outlining exactly what y'all desire from your reader. Don't assume they know what you're looking for.

Thank and Sign: Stop your letter by thanking your recipient for because a gift, and signing it. Ignore the temptation to sign from your organization. Instead, choose an employee, board fellow member, or key volunteer to represent the collective whole. This helps promote the ideal "human-to-homo" element you lot're aiming for, and reinforces the personal connection betwixt y'all and your donor.

Donation Letter Template & Sample for Individuals and Corporations

Now information technology's fourth dimension to first writing your ain donation letter. To go you started, here's a template using the framework I discussed in a higher place as well as an example of a letter that follows it. Merely click the link, enter your email and you lot're proficient to become! One time you're in the certificate, make a re-create for yourself to enable editing.

2 Gold Standard Donation Alphabetic character Examples

If you want a little more than inspiration, hither are 2 letters I've received lately that inspired me to donate.

Letter #one: Friends of the Larchmont Library

donation letter example

This donation alphabetic character receives high marks for its construction, content, and overall appearance. Although this re-create doesn't speak to a specific donor, information technology does accost their past back up, current happenings at the library, and the current need. The means to requite are clear and precise, and the letter ends on a very loftier note, with a solid "thanks."

Letter #ii: Salve the Children

donation letter example

This email is stellar because it follows a traditional donation letter of the alphabet format, but appeals to someone reading an email (as opposed to a physical letter). It begins with an informal yet personal salutation, speaks to a timely world outcome (bonus!), mentions their demand, the solution, and concrete ways the organization is helping, a direct telephone call-to-activity, and a personal plea. Finally, it'south signed by a person. It's easily absorbable, personal, and timely.

Read More: ten Tips for Direct Mail Fundraising Success in the Fourth dimension of COVID-19 and Beyond

A Final Note: Donation Letter Best Practices & Central Takeaways

Hither are three more all-time practices to keep in mind as you lot begin crafting your donation letter.

Be Conversational & Ignore Jargon: You understand your internal lingo, only your donor may not exist as comfy with nonprofit jargon. So toss those "collective deportment," "synergizing," and "alignments" aside, and opt for something more human being and personal. Write your letter as though you're speaking to someone face-to-face.
Track Your Data: Record response rates from your donors. This can help you improve your letters and timing for campaigns down the route.
Add Extras: Set your nonprofit up for success later on through fundraising "extras." These include request your donor to consider a recurring or monthly gift or inviting them to participate in the campaign past sharing or fundraising themselves.
Brand it Easy to Donate: After reading your letter, potential donors should know exactly how they can contribute to your cause, whether it's by filling out their credit card info and mailing it back or contributing via your online payment arrangement.

And practise you know the best role of the alphabetic character writing process?

Once you write a solid donation letter of the alphabet template, you can build on information technology for campaigns and years to come. Bank check out Bloomerang's annual fundraising appeal letter writing infographic to go a better sense of structuring your appeal.

At that place's no time like the present to perfect your donation letter and stand out among the crowd. Yous've got this!