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:

1. You can address all concerns and potential concerns 2. 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.

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: Good news

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.

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.