When it comes to asking for donations, pledges, and support, Fundraising letters are an excellent opportunity to get your fundraising efforts off to a great start. Not only are they a good way to reach out to potential donors, they also give you a chance to crystallize your own message. So despite the fact that social media, fancy e-cards and other technologies have sought to supplant this very basic way to solicit help for various causes, crafting an effective fundraising Letter still matters. Here are some tips to help you prepare your fundraising letters.

• Be strategic when choosing your mailing list: Think carefully about which donors you are sending your letter to. Are you addressing people who have never given to your cause? Are you addressing people who have supported you in the past? Craft your letter specifically to your readers.
• Start with a personal salutation: Let donors know that you think of them as being real people as opposed to names in a database.
• Tell a story: Don’t overwhelm the recipient with too many facts and figures. Appealing to your donor using stories about others who are affected by your cause creates a more effective way to get your reader’s support. The best fundraising letters appeal directly to your reader’s humanity, hope for a better world and/or their sense of justice and fairness.
• Be concise: Even if you decide to write a lengthier fundraising letter of say 5 or more pages, make your appeal succinct. Remember that the reader may not have the time to go over a lengthy appeal so use bold and italics and even underline to help get the message across quickly.
• Include a postscript: Studies show that when readers are skimming through an appeal letter one of the first parts they look at is the postscript. Therefore, it is a good idea to place the “ask,” the deadline, and the compelling call to action in this section of the letter.
• Repeat your appeal without badgering your reader: Repeat your call to action so that readers know exactly what is expected of them but don’t do so in every line of your letter. Remember, not everyone will have received and read every previous mailing.
• Thank your reader: Extending a common courtesy to your reader such as a “thank you” can often be the first step towards securing future gift from them.

There you have it. These are some simple and effective guidelines you can use towards crafting the perfect letter for your elementary school fundraisers. You may also wish to purchase our fundraising coupon cards in order to streamline and make your fundraising efforts easier for you and your donors.

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