How to Write an Effective Letter
The key to a successful letter campaign is writing
a good letter. Here are some suggestions for writing
a successful fundraising letter:
- Create
a
list of
EVERYONE you know. Do not say “no” for
anyone. Send them the letter and let them
decide. Look through
your checkbook
and identify people and places where
you regularly spend money or have spent a
large sum of money.
Check with your family for relatives
and people who knew you as a child. If you
send holiday
cards, use that list. Do not hesitate
to include casual
acquaintances, as they will understand
that you are seeking donations for a worthy
cause.
- Ask. Include a call
to action. Don’t just
tell them what you are doing, ask for their help.
Include your personal fundraising goal in the letter,
and suggest giving levels. Do not diminish your
request by being apologetic or by saying something
similar to “I hope you can donate something”.
- Make it personal. Hand
address the outside envelope. Do not use mailing
labels for the
person’s
name and address. Hand sign each letter.
Write a short personal note to those
you don’t
see regularly, i.e., “Mary, I
hope this finds you doing well!”
- Introduce your team
honoree. Let them
know that you are not just training,
but that
you are training
in honor of someone. Include something
personal about your team hero.
- Make it easy to donate. Include
a return envelope for them to send
their
donation
to you. Label the
envelopes with your address. It is
nice to include a stamp on the return
envelope.
State
in your letter
that all donations are 100% tax deductible
and that 75% of every dollar goes
directly to our mission.
- Suggest online donations. Include
your personal TNT website address
in the letter.
The easiest
way is to have them go to
etools.teamintraining.org/searchparticpant/
and enter your first and last name.
- Set a deadline. People are always
motivated by deadlines. We give
you a deadline for
your own fundraising, but we
recommend that you set a deadline
earlier than that date. This
way you can assess your fundraising
and revise
your plan
if needed
before the actual deadline.
- Send a reminder. Keep a list
of those who send in donations.
Send
a reminder
to those what have
not yet donated. Include training
updates in your reminder, and
let them know
that fundraising is
going well, but you still have
a bit farther to go. Sometimes,
reminder
letters are more
successful
than original letters for bringing
in the money.
- Send a “thank you” card. “Thanks” is
a powerful word. It is nice
to receive a note acknowledging
the importance
of a donation,
not matter how small
the amount. Staying in communication
develops a rapport that will
have many added benefits,
from
closer bonds of friendship
to continued support for
another season of TNT.
- Put your HEART into
you letter. Tell them why you
are doing this.
Don’t
include too many facts
and figures; instead include
your personal
story of why you have taken
on this task. Someone will
donate to you because
they
know you and
want to support your reasons
for doing this.
To assist your fundraising letter
campaign, download and edit the following letters
of your choice. All letters are in MS Word format
(.doc).
Sample Letter 1 – For Marathoners
Sample
Letter 2 – General Purpose
Sample
Letter 3 – Personal Connection
Sample
Letter 4 – Flyer-type Letter
Sample Letter 5 – Corporate Letter (click
here for more info.)
Sample
Letter 6 – Alumni
Letter
|
