How To Write The Perfect Donation Request Letter
To write the perfect donation request letter, follow these simple steps:
Make sure you open up your letter by greeting the recipient. Its important that you include their name donation letters without a name seem impersonal and are more likely to be ignored. When donors read direct mail appeals, the first thing they look for is a personalized salutation. Some studies show that emails including names in the salutation are 26% more likely to be opened! Whether youre writing the letter by hand or through a communications tool, dont forget this vital detail.
If the recipient hasnt heard of your organization before, you definitely need to explain your mission at the beginning. This way, readers get a good understanding of what youre fighting for and the goals you want to accomplish. One of the best ways to do this is by sharing a story from someone whos benefited from your organization, and then sharing how donors helped make a difference in that persons life. This connects donors to your mission and shows them the people theyll help with a gift.
Youre likely sending out a donation letter for a specific reason, whether thats a project, campaign, or event. Make sure to describe that reason clearly and include key details like dates or guidelines. The story at the beginning of your donation letter will reinforce your appeal!
The Basic Donation Letter Format
Lets start with the basics. Heres a template of the essential elements that any effective donation letter will include:
Mention Tangible Impact Prospects
The Christmas donation letter, being extremely personal and seasonal, cannot be vague about the asks. You have established a strong relationship with the donor, and they deserve to know how their money will be spent.
A study by Campaign Monitor showed that 61% of donors appreciate knowing how their money is helping. Moreover, 91.8% of nonprofits believe that sharing tangible impact prospects and real stories are the most critical content for their donors.
When you mention the tangible outcomes of the readers contributions, you increase the chances of getting the desired responses.
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Key Takeaway From This Donation Request Letter
Often times, nonprofits and other organizations will try and appeal to corporations, whether big or small, for donation requests. Although structured similarly to donation request letters for individuals, often people ask for in-kind donations in addition to financial help.
Corporations and businesses have more resources, so sending them a donation request letter is smart if youre in need of specific material or supplies. Keep in mind that businesses might want something in return, so it can be a good idea to offer an incentive. For example, offer to post their logo and business name on your literature or publicly thank them at your event. That gives them some positive exposure!
When Should You Use Them
Your nonprofit can use donation request letters at any time of the year! However, they are particularly effective toward the end of the calendar year when donors are determining their pre-tax season finances. People also tend to be more charitable in November and December, which means that your donation request letter has a better chance of encouraging a donation.
You can send out donation request letters to any of your donors, but these types of communications are better received by older generations. While millennials respond to digital donation appeals, the baby boomer generation overwhelmingly prefers direct mail.
Bonus: We suggest giving donors the option to reply to your letters by mailing a traditional check or directing them to give through your organizations website.
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What Is A Donation Letter Or Donation Request Letter
When writing a donation letter, remember you are writing to a real person. The formality of the donation letter will depend on who you are addressing. The purpose of these letters is to inform donors about your organization, why their gifts are needed, and how they can give.
Many donation letters will be mailed. The cost of printing and direct mail can be costly, though, so there are other options. Emails and social media donation appeals have grown in popularity. Even if you choose to send your request by email, you should still include as much information as possible.
Church Donation Letters: 8 Templates & Best Practices
It can be difficult to ask for your congregants monetary support after all that they do for your community. However, church donation letters are a great way to increase funding for initiatives that will help your congregation become a better place. Were here to help with tips and templates to set you up for success.
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What To Know About Church Donation Letters
Asking for donations is never easy, especially when youre reaching out to the people whom your congregation would be nothing without. Even though it can feel uncomfortable asking your congregants for donations, fundraising is essential to the continuation of your church services and community as a whole. Thats where church donation letters come in!
Church donation letters are an easy and helpful way to ensure your church secures sufficient donations to accomplish its goals. To make sure you write compelling letters to your congregation, weve included some church contribution letter samples for different occasions along with some best practices.
Donation Request Letter For Food Sample Letters
Donation request letters are written appeals seeking a potential sponsor to support an event, more so charitable events. This letter is meant to make the donor understand the demand and why they need to support your event. Furthermore, when writing this type of donation letter, you must exercise professionalism. This letter is written by individuals who run home for the elderly, schools, and childrens homes, among many more organizations that might need food support. To get food from prospective donors, these organizations usually use the donation request letter for food.
On the other hand, you can also use this letter if you experience calamities that render many families destitute and in demand of relevant supplies, such as food. Coming up with a donation letter might be tricky, especially if you are not used to formulating one. However, you can make the entire process easy by going through a sample donation request letter or food. This will guide you on the format and language you should use in your letter. This article will keep you informed about the donation request letter for food.
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Sample Sponsorship Letter For Donations
Letter Template 19:
Dear ,Thank you for your interest in sponsoring our organization. Your donations will help us continue to provide valuable services to the community.Below is a letter from our executive director detailing the impact your donation will have on our organization. We hope you find it informative and thank you for considering our request.If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you again for your generosity.Best,
Sample Donation Request Letter To Family And Friends
With the people who know you best, you can afford to be a bit more vulnerable and offer details that you may not feel as comfortable sharing with businesses or other potential donors. Use this template as a framework for your letter or email, but dont be afraid to customize it more.
Subject line: :
Hi ,
I wanted to reach out and let you know that Im fundraising to . As you probably already know, this cause is very important to me.
Would you be able to contribute to my fundraiser? A donation of any amount would truly help me reach my goal.
To help me , simply click the link to my fundraiser below:
If you could also share my fundraiser link with your friends, it would mean so much. The more people hear about my cause, the quicker I can reach my fundraising goal.
With love/Sincerely,
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What Are The Benefits Of Using Donation Letter Sample
- These letter samples have been designed by experts and have a professional touch to them. This means you can easily draft a highly impressive donation letter without the help of an expert
- With all the essential segments in place, you can be rest assured that you do not miss out on any crucial information while writing the letter
- These letters have been drafted keeping in mind the fact that you may want to make changes to them
Not sure how to draft an impressive donation letter? We have a wide range of donation letter samples and Formal Letters samples in our collection. Browse through these to find one that will be apt for your need. Download this and then customize it. Using these forms help you to draft an impressive donation letter in a jiffy.
Close With A Salutation
The final step in writing the letter is to end it with a salutation. Close the letter with the thank you note. This should be followed by a salutation such as Thanking you or Yours sincerely, followed by the name of the sender. If you are typing the letter, you need to provide space after your name to put your handwritten signature.
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Tips And Tricks For Donation Request Letters: Segmentation
When your organization sends out donation request letters, it makes sense to reach out to your entire donor database and cover as much ground as possible. However, you dont want to fall into the trap of writing the same letter to every person. You might attempt to at least personalize each letter with the recipients name, but that runs the risk of becoming a huge time waster.
Many online donation software and CRM systems have segmentation capabilities to group donors in your donor base into more specific categories. Using these segmented groups, you can more efficiently target your messages by:
Letter Asking For Donations
Letter Template 17:
Dear ____,Thank you for your generous donation to our organization. We are grateful for your support!We are writing to ask if you might be interested in making an additional donation. Your help would be greatly appreciated!If you are able to make a donation, please visit our website and donate online. You can also mail your donations to our office address.Thank you again for your support! We appreciate everything you do for us.Sincerely,
Template 18:
Dear FIRST_NAME,Thank you for your support of our organization in the past. We are writing to ask for your help once again as we face an important funding shortfall.Your donation will help us continue our work supporting and making a difference in the lives of people who need it most. With your help, we can make sure that those who need assistance receive it.We hope that you will be able to donate to our cause and help us reach our goal. If you are able to donate, please visit our website and follow the instructions on how to do so. Thank you for your time and generosity.Sincerely,YOUR_NAME
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Tips For Writing A Perfect Donation Request Letter
Your donation letter should be brief, concise, and informative. Abstain from using overly wordy language, or from digressing from the main point. Make certain that you dont ask the donor for a specific amount, let the donor decide how much they are willing to contribute.
Each letter should contain your story, or current state of affairs, as well as enough evidence to explain your situation. Be as exact as possible and avoid sounding vague or shady. When it comes to the prospective donor, remember to make them feel important, that their contribution will actually mean something in the end.
Finally, when all is said and done, be gracious and thank your prospective donor for their time and patience for reading your request. Furnish them with the appropriate contact information, as you wish to appear as transparent as possible.
A donation request letter is classified as a formal business letter, so it should be formatted as such. This means you are to use block style. In block style, all sections are left-justified. As for the body of the letter, the paragraphs are single spaced, with double spacing in between each paragraph.
As you will see by the examples below, your letter will contain:
- Your name, address and contact information
- The current date the letter was typed
- Your Recipients name, address and contact information
- The text body, single spaced with double spacing in between paragraphs
Sample Donation Request Letters
What Are Church Donation Letters
Church donation letters are letters congregations send to their constituents or other members of the local community in request of monetary support. These letters can ask for general donations or for help with a certain project or initiative. The purpose of church letters is to secure funding that will allow your congregation to thrive and accomplish its goals.
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Little Angels Centre For Exceptional Care
Angel Songs is an annual event held by Little Angels Centre for Exceptional Care to raise money for taking care of the kids and young adults living in their home. This donation letter is a great example of a sponsorship request letter sent to potential corporate sponsors. Heres what we absolutely love about this donation letter
Make Your Own Donation Request Letter Template
Perfecting the donation request letter takes time. As you try different formats and looks, you will find out what people respond well to and which they do not. Once you have a template you love, make sure that its being used across the organization. It will save you a lot of time and you can return to it with tweaks and updates whenever needed without having to completely reinvent the wheel.
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Donation Letter Template: Online Fundraising
Dear ,
We here at would like to thank you for being a part of our community.
With the support of our friends and neighbors like you, weve been able to accomplish so much over the past year.
Were happy to announce that were launching a new online fundraising initiative! This campaign is raising funds for , and will be essential for us to continue our work into the coming season.
Would you please consider making a donation of to help us kick off our campaign? Please visit our donation page to get started.
For helping us kick off our online fundraising campaign, wed love to offer you a special thank you.
Stay tuned for more updates on our campaign! Thanks so much for your support, and we hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
While the other templates in this post can be adapted for both email and physical donation letters, this one is intended to be sent as an email.
For an online fundraising campaign, your recipients will most likely all have donated to your organization via online channels in the past. This means your letter should start off by acknowledging that existing relationship.
Express excitement about your newest online fundraising push, and use a clear CTA, like a button, to funnel readers directly to your donation page. Get creative to incentivize early-bird donors, too! If you know that some of your donors are matching-gift eligible, include information on how to access a matching gift database and complete their match for your nonprofit.
Acknowledge These Gifts Online
People who donate love to be thanked. Sending an acknowledgment is necessary, but have you thought of adding in-kind donors to your donor wall or promoting their gifts on your Facebook page? By publicly acknowledging these gifts, you will let donors know you are grateful and let others know how they can support your organization too.
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Donation Request Letter For School Supplies
Subject: Be s next hero!
Dear
My name is and I work at as . Each year we welcome a new class of eager and bright students that were so excited to get to know. We work hard to make sure we provide amazing learning opportunities and engaging events to bring our schools community together.
This year, we are trying to . .
However, due to our schools budgetary constraints, we had to cut back . While we strive to offer our students the best education possible, we need the resources and supplies to keep our running
We would like to ask that you help us continue by donating .
If you choose to contribute to our school, you will give more than just . Youll be a hero to the students who will be able to .
Please feel free to contact me at or by email if you have any additional questions about our program or if youd like to support us in another way. If you would like to donate, please fill out and return the attached form with your in-kind donations.
All of us at thank you in advance for your support!
Warm regards,