Writing effective fundraising appeal letters is an art and a science. There are several proven tactics you can put to work within your own letters to improve your writing and meet your goals. In this article, we cover five things you must do to engage your audience and bring in more donations with your appeals.
![5 Must-Dos for Engaging Fundraising Appeal Letters [+ Samples]](https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Copy-of-New-Design-2022-blog-images-Nov-to-Dec-1-1.png)
Writing a fundraising appeal letter that engages your audience and effectively raises critical donations can be daunting. Where do you even start?
Let’s back up – what do we mean by ‘fundraising appeal letter’?
In this article, we’re talking about mailed appeal letters, also known as direct mail. These letters are sent directly to potential donors on a specified mailing list, and the end goal of each is typically to raise funds for an organization’s mission. Although, you can apply many of the tips here to email appeals as well.
And, no, direct mail isn’t dead. In fact, it’s still one of the most effective ways to fundraise. Direct mail actually has an average response rate of 5.3% – compare that to the average 0.1% response rate of email appeals.
But to get to that level of response for your nonprofit, there are several key things to keep in mind. Read on for our top five must-dos when writing fundraising appeal letters!
First up in our list of must-dos is to approach writing your fundraising appeal letter as if you are writing to a friend. You want your potential donors to feel as if they are hearing from a trusted contact, not an entire organization.
Whenever possible, include your reader’s first name, especially in the salutation. ‘Hello, Joe’ will come across a lot friendlier and establish a better relationship than ‘Dear Donor’ ever will.
You can also use more variable fields throughout your letter to restate the recipient’s name, or include details about previous gifts. Your printer can help you set up these fields.
This isn’t the time to pull out your dictionary or formal writing skills. Avoid jargon at all times, and write as if you are speaking to someone who knows nothing about your mission or industry. Remember, you aren’t addressing board members or staff, you’re writing to those outside of your organization.
Think about it – would you include a large photo with text wrapped around it in a letter to your friend? It’s been proven that fundraising appeal letters perform better without photos because these images can make the letters feel more like a piece of marketing material than an urgent and personal ask for donations.
Save those amazing photos for places where they will have the desired impact, such as in your newsletters, annual reports, email appeals, social media posts, and website.
Next up, you must know and understand your audience. This will help you further personalize your fundraising appeal letter to ensure it speaks directly to your potential donors’ wants and needs.
Then, create a unique letter for each segment. There are many ways to segment your contacts, including
And more! On Donorbox, you can add simple as well as advanced filters to your donor data to segment them into various categories as per your need.
Here are a few examples of how you can best engage your different audience groups –
Donorbox reporting templates help you quickly create LYBUNT and other reports on donor data, as shown below.
This will ensure that each donor can make a gift in the way that is easiest for them. If you know their favored method of giving, you can highlight that method in your letter, but it’s still best to offer a variety of options, including
In order for your potential donors to read your message and, eventually, give to your cause, they must first be engaged by your fundraising appeal letter.
Start on the outside – what will get your audience to open the direct mail piece?
It should catch the eye and not get tossed in the trash. Consider using a font that looks handwritten for your contacts’ addresses and be sure to include your logo.
You could also use a non-legal size envelope to draw more attention to your letter in a stack of mail, and add a quick message that hints at the contents of the letter.
Perhaps, “Open now to ensure no child goes hungry.”
This means that you want to focus on what the recipient can do for those your nonprofit serves, instead of all that your organization accomplishes.
Make sure to balance the use of ‘you’ and ‘we’ to show that it is your donors that make the difference. “You save the lives of hundreds of area dogs with your gifts,” will resonate better than, “Our organization saved 100 dogs this month thanks to the work we put in.”
The use of bold, underlining, and italics will also keep your letter recipients engaged by moving them through the piece while drawing attention to the most important sections.
Test it out by only reading the content you highlight – will a skimmer get the whole story if they never read the entire letter? Plus, if your highlighted portions are engaging enough, someone who usually only skims may be enticed to read it all!
One of the most important things to remember when it comes to any type of fundraising is that the majority of people give to people (or animals, or places), not organizations. That’s why it is vital that you show the real impact your donors can have on the lives of others.
Let’s be honest – no one outside of your nonprofit really cares if you meet your fundraising goal or not. They want to know how meeting this goal will help those you serve.
Use storytelling to show your potential donors exactly how their gifts will make a difference. Write about a child who received critical medical care because of donations, a family that found shelter and food through your programs, or a cat that was recently adopted by her forever family.
Just make sure your stories are real and that they evoke powerful emotions – the more connected the reader feels to the story, the more likely they are to give to ensure similar stories can come true for others.
Pro tip: Some organizations are tempted to use statistics and data to show their impact in a fundraising appeal letter. We suggest sending these numbers in a separate impact report or annual report instead so that the focus of the letter can be on the story and the ask.
This must-do is a big one – you must make the ask!
Too many nonprofits are uncomfortable putting a straightforward ask in their fundraising appeal letters. But your readers won’t know what you want them to do unless you tell them.
You can see the difference here:
Which one sounds better? If you think it’s the second one, you are correct! Your ask should be specific and actionable. Including an ask amount as well as a deadline makes it even more powerful.
Pro tip #1: Include variations of the ask multiple times throughout the appeal letter – at least two to three times – so that you are really driving the message home.
And make sure to include an ask in a P.S. Many studies have found that one of the first things an appeal recipient reads is the signer of the letter, followed immediately by the P.S. So, don’t forget to include it!
The P.S. should be a brief summary of the ask and should tell the reader exactly what the purpose of the letter is, even if they don’t read anything else.
Pro tip #2: Start by developing a case statement – also known as a case for support – targeted to your appeal, or the campaign that surrounds it. This will help you better explain your impact and purpose, as well as formulate that all-important ask.
And we have a bonus must-do – don’t stop at a fundraising appeal letter! Each appeal you write should be part of an overarching, multi-channel campaign.
It can take anywhere from 7 to 12 touchpoints before a donor decides to give. With a multi-channel campaign, your message is delivered through several different outlets, including your appeal letter, social media, email, and your website – and beyond. It ensures your donors see your message more than once and in more than one place.
The best part? You don’t have to recreate the wheel. Start by writing your fundraising appeal letter using the tips above. Then, take the best nuggets and repurpose them for use throughout your campaign’s channels.
Adjust each piece for the channel and its audience. Don’t just copy and paste. And you’re well on your way to a full-fledged fundraising campaign.
Looking for more resources to guide you as you write your fundraising appeal letters?
Our Asks that Engage course on Donorbox Academy is filled with actionable best practices you can put to work now. Take the course at your own pace with on-demand video lessons, examples of appeal letters, and more.
You’ll also gain access to our exclusive Appeal Writing Workbook, which takes you step-by-step through the writing process for direct mail, email, and social media appeals.
We also have a guide here to help you devise the perfect end-of-year appeal for your nonprofit. There are examples and samples to get you started with inspiration.
The Donorbox Nonprofit Podcast also offers weekly episodes filled with tips and tools you can use throughout your nonprofit. A recent episode “Write Fundraising Appeals that Work Best for Year-End Giving” dives deeper into some of the must-dos we’ve written about here and helps you write powerful fundraising appeal letters for the giving season.
We have free samples for you to craft your own fundraising appeal letter.
Click here to download a sample fundraising letter.
Click here to find 3 sample year-end appeal letters.
When it comes to writing fundraising appeal letters, there are 5 must-dos you should keep in mind. Remember to be friendly, get to know your audience, engage your readers, show impact through storytelling, and make the ask.
Plus, you should always repurpose your appeal letter content into a multi-channel fundraising campaign!
Looking for a donation form to send your donors to that is quick, user-friendly, and powerful, without breaking the bank? Donorbox is the way to go! With innovative tools and the lowest platform fees in the industry – plus zero sign-up or monthly charges – there’s a reason more than 80,000 organizations have chosen Donorbox as their go-to fundraising platform. Sign up today!
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Kara has several years of experience in communications and marketing for nonprofit organizations. Her love for serving others began while fundraising for and attending mission trips. She then worked with multiple local nonprofits through various marketing agencies and volunteer opportunities before becoming a communications manager at Variety the Children's Charity of St. Louis for more than four years. Kara now specializes in writing and enjoys sharing her experiences and knowledge with others on this platform.
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Kara Schmid