How To Create A Fundraising Letter

Most charities and non-profit groups depend on donations from outside sources in order to fund their projects and achieve their goals. There are several ways that they usually raise money -- one of the most common is to use a fundraising letter. Fundraising letters are a great way for charities and non-profits to explain their mission to more people and generate funds at the same time.

Many groups struggle to write their fundraising letter -- they have a hard time deciding what the proper tone and content should be. Some groups in need of a fundraising letter even purchase specialized fundraising software packages to generate a letter for them. Getting the letter just right because many people are not amenable to sending money to groups that they don’t know much about -- many people will simply throw the letter in the trash. Thus it is very important for groups who need to raise funds to make the fundraising letter special and motivate people to send in money.

The first question to be answered is: how can the fundraising letter be made to catch people’s attention? The next question is: how can we get people to open the letter. Some groups achieve both of these goals by printing "gift enclosed" on the envelope. Many people will open the letter out of curiosity to see what is enclosed.

Examples of gifts that are easy to enclose in letters are things like personalized address labels or a magnet for the refrigerator. Sometimes the gift is enough to pique the recipient’s curiosity so that they will read the letter. Some people are so pleased with the gift that they are more open to the idea of donating. Once the letter is opened they will probably, at a minimum, skim the letter.

So, included with the gift should be a letter introducing the charity, or non-profit, to the recipient. The letter should include facts and details about the organization and its purpose. If the letter is detailed and gives specific information about why the money is being raised people will be more comfortable donating money.

To get a better response a post card or envelope with pre-paid postage should be included. The card should give information about how to donate to the charity so that it is very simple for the person to do so.

Sometimes the card has suggested donation amounts so that the person realizes very small and very large donations are all welcome and appreciated. If it is very simple for someone to donate they will be more likely to do so.