The Solicitation Letter: Writing a Fundraising Letter that Works

Dec 20, 2010
Jennifer Silva

Write appeals letters that work - ba1969

A solicitation letter can make or break your budget, so stop wasting your time with appeals letters that fail and write a fundraising letter that works.

Whether you're asking for cash contributions or donations for a fundraiser, an effective solicitation letter is vital. Appeals letters that don't get results are worse than just wasted time and money, they can also sour your image with potential donors, so try these tips for writing fundraising letters that get you the money and donations you're looking for.

Writing a Solicitation Letter: Fundraising Letter Basics

Effective fundraising letters follow some standard guidelines that can make a big difference. When writing appeals letters, remember to:

Explain who your organization is and why you exist. Your organization (or your fundraiser) exists for a reason: tell people what that is. Whether or not they choose to donate will ultimately come down to whether or not they care about your mission, so it's important that your appeal letter tell them what that mission is.

Explain what you'll do with the money (or donation) and why it's worth the effort. This means explaining what the money will be used for and how it's been successfully used in the past. This is where your fundraising letter shows proof that your organization is making a difference.

Get emotional. Donors and advocates for mission-based organizations have strong feelings about what their contributions are being used for. Use that to your advantage by appealing to their emotions. Use emotional triggers to move them to act.

Ask for a specific donation. Not only do you need to be sure that you explicitly ask for a donation in your letter of solicitation, you need to specify what you want. List a range of contribution amounts and let your donors pick, or ask for a particular item or service.

Thank your donors. And then thank them again. No one likes to feel taken for granted, and, if you're a nonprofit organization that depends on your donor base, you really can't afford to take them for granted anyway.

Writing a Better Fundraising Letter: The Targeted Solicitation Letter

When writing a letter of solicitation, it's important that you don't write the same letter to new and repeat donors. Sending the same fundraising letter to everyone sends the message that previous donations have gone unnoticed and unappreciated. If you're using a mailing list and form letters, be sure to split your list into at least two different mailing lists (one for each donor group) and do the following:

For appeals letters targeted at new donors, build value in your organization by thoroughly explaining your mission, history and credentials throughout your appeal letter. It's vital that new donors get a good feel for who your organization is and why they should give their time and/or money to you.

For fundraising letters targeted at previous donors, be sure to thank them for their continued support and tell them what a difference their donation made to your organization. Show them proof by sharing your victories and results.

If you have a group of particularly generous donors, write personalized letters of solicitation to each person. Highlight their generosity and importance to your mission. With high-impact donors, this personal touch can really make a difference.

Writing Fundraising Letters: Using Direct Mail Basics to Boost Solicitation Letter Results

Using sound direct mail practices can vastly improve the donations and response rate a fundraising letter generates, so consider using these direct mail basics to improve your appeals letters:

Show donors what's in it for them, especially if you're writing a letter of solicitation for a fundraiser that involves gathering items and services (like a silent auction or charity raffle). While most appeals will appeal mostly to the heart, writing for a silent auction can be a little different because you really need to appeal to what's in it for the businesses from which you're asking for donations.

Give a deadline. Not only does this appeal to your donors' sense of urgency, it gives you a reason to follow up later with a second fundraising letter if you don't hear back from them.

Include a P.S. A direct mail basic, the P.S. (postscript) grabs skimmers who can't be bothered to read your whole donation request letter. Instead, they'll read the first paragraph (if you're lucky), the headings (if they exist), and then skip to the end. Skimmers are tricky, so it's important that your P.S. wraps up your appeal and tells donors how to make a donation.

Writing a Fundraising Letter: A Successful Solicitation Letter Isn't Complete Without a Thank You

After you've collected your contributions, don't forget to write thank you letters for donations. A well-worded thank you letter for donation can go a long way in strengthening future donor support.

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