Writing the perfect fundraising letter takes time and lots of practice. In this article you will learn the tips and techniques on how to write fundraising letters that work and raise more funds.
Before you begin writing your fundraising letter, first decide on what you want your focus to be and why you need to raise funds. Knowing your objectives before you start will help you write a more compelling fundraising letter.
Address Block
If you will be mailing your fundraising letters with window envelopes, then you will need an address block on the first page of your letter to show through the envelopes. Be consistent. If your address block looks like this:
Mr. Bob Sample
123 Street
Toronto, ON Z1Z 1Z1
If you don’t include the salutation in the address block then don’t address the letter like “Dear Mr. Sample”. Only include the salutation if you know what it is. Never use “Dear Friend”. If you have the person’s name or company name, use that instead. “Dear Friend” is impersonal and conveys the message to your donors that you don’t know who they are and don’t care.
First Paragraph
Your first paragraph needs to be short, compelling, paints a picture with words and lets the donor know your case. Talk about your organization or the project and get to the point right away. You may want to bold or italic certain words.
Second Paragraph
Appeal to your donors’ hearts first with descriptions and anecdotes. If you only have one sentence for the second paragraph, make it short and bold.
Remaining Paragraphs
Use facts, figures and quotes throughout the rest of the fundraising letter. Ask rhetoric questions. Use images or actual photographs that illustrate your cause or project. Images will help pull on your donors’ heart strings. Keep your fundraising letter to no more than two pages. Always print double sided. Don’t write a novel and avoiding exaggerating or over-extending yourself. If you are writing to donors who have previously giving, make sure that you thank them first before you ask for another gift. Don’t forget to ask for a donation and tell them what their donation will be used for.
Closing Remarks
Ask for the donation. Keep these paragraphs short. No more than three sentences per paragraph. Thank the donor and show how grateful you are for their gift. End the letter with sincerely and include signature, title and name. If possible have the signature in blue ink. It gives the impression that each letter was hand signed.
P.S.
Always include a P.S. The bulk of your fundraising letter will go unread by most of your donors. The P.S. is the last chance effort to summarize your fundraising letter and get your donors to act on it. Don’t go overboard. If you need to include a P.P.S. do so but don’t go for a third one.
Remember to include a postage paid envelope and reply device such as a tear off coupon. With your reply device make it easier by having the donor’s information pre-printed and include a gift matrix. You may want to utilize the back portion of the reply coupon and have it for recurring sign up. Try not to use the smallest type size, allow for room for any address or name changes and any special requests that your donors may have.
The type of paper you use to print on and the font face and font sizes should be consistent with your corporate brand. If you are an environmental organization, you want to make sure that you practice what you preach and use FSC and recycled paper. Your font size should be 11 to 12 point. You may use a smaller size for any header or footer sections but the actual fundraising letter should be a size that can easily be read. You may want to use fancy font faces because they look nice but they can be eye sores. Arial, Times Roman or Verdana are good choices.
