How to Write a Fundraising Letter to Donors

Personalize the salutation of your fundraising letter, if possible.

Your past donors need and deserve a different fundraising letter than the one you send to prospects. It needs to express appreciation and explain how their past donations have helped, while also convincing them that a need still exists. Though there may be times when a one-page letter is appropriate for your donors, two-page letters almost always get better results.

Instructions

1. Grab your donor's attention by printing an intriguing teaser alongside a graphic or photograph on the envelope that suggests the theme of the letter. For example, you would have a photo of a child with the headline, "She doesn't know where her next meal is going to come from. Will you help?"

2. Personalize the salutation, if possible, then remind the donor, in the first paragraph of the letter, of the issue that inspired her to donate to your organization in the past. State a statistic, ask a question or create a hypothetical situation. You may wish to incorporate all three of these strategies. For example, "How can children in our community do well in school when 1 in 4 of them goes to bed hungry at night?" Provide further detail of the problem in another sentence or two.

3. Explain in the second paragraph how your organization helps solve the problem you described. For example, "Thankfully, AAA Food Bank provides food to 20,000 children in our community every single week." Provide further detail of your organization's work in another sentence or two.

4. Tell the donor how dependent your organization is on gifts from friends like him, in the third paragraph, and ask him to give again today. If possible, note the amount of his most recent donation and mention what it covered. For example, "Your gift of $50 provided two meals to young children."

5. Write a subhead -- a short, one-line statement bolded and centered in the middle of the page and possibly in a different font color, such as "Hungry Children Like Mary Need Your Help."

6. Fill the rest of Page 1 with the story of that person and how your organization has helped her. First, share what life was like for her before she received your services. Then, share what life is like for her now. If you do not have enough information on any one person to fill four to six paragraphs, share two or three different stories.

7. Write another subhead at the top of Page 2 of your fundraising letter asking again for the donor's help, such as "May We Have Your Continued Support?" Remind the donor of the role that compassionate people like her play in supporting the organization's mission and history of success in a paragraph or two. Then, introduce a bulleted outline of the specific programs and services that the donor's gift will support. Close this section with another line or two asking for her help.

8. Write one more subhead, this time focusing on the urgency of the donor's response, such as "Please Send Your Next Gift Today" or "Time Is Running Out." Explain why the donor's immediate response is so important, such as "To meet the needs of hungry children in our community, AAA Food Bank must raise an additional $200,000 over the next 60 days." Provide further detail of the immediate need in another paragraph or two, closing the letter with one more request for help.

9. Summarize the letter in two or three sentences in the P.S., summarizing the problem, how the donor can help and the urgency of her response. For example, "Every dollar of support you send to AAA Food Bank can provide enough food for 5 meals, so if you want to help a hungry child in need of immediate help please send your next gift of support today."

10. Carry the theme of your letter into the copy for your reply card or envelope, such as "Yes, I want to help hungry children in my community. Enclosed is my immediate gift of ---"

Tips & Warnings

• If your list is too long and printing too costly to include personal names in the salutation, "Dear Friend" is the ideal alternative.

• Write to your donor in a conversational tone.

• Vary the length of your paragraphs. Most will probably be three or four lines, but one- or two-line paragraphs here and there make the letter look like an easier read. Paragraphs should never run longer than five lines.

• In the interest of privacy, it is advisable to change the name or names of those whose stories you share. Simply tell the donor you have done so with an asterisk at the bottom of the page, such as "Name changed in the interest of privacy."

References

• Fundraiser Help: How to Write a Fundraising Letter