How to Write a Successful Fundraising Letter for Your Cause

Writing is a fundraising letter is far different from your typical copywriting task. Unlike most businesses, you’re not trying to promote a traditional product or service but trying to educate and inspire your readers in your cause while asking them to donate.

This comes with obvious complications, and you’ll want to make sure you get it right first time, so you can maximise your donation opportunities and maintain the credibility of your organisation. So, if you’re trying to write your next fundraising letter, here’s everything you need to know.

Tips for Writing a Fundraising Letter

1. Tell a Story

One of the best marketing approaches for businesses is to tell a story in the content they write, and the same can be said for your fundraising letter.

Whether you’re talking about the history of your cause, a case study about someone affected by your cause or the story of your organisation, telling a story is a great way to connect with your readers on an emotional level, helping you to inspire and educate.

When you’re writing your letter, it can be easy to fall into the trap of just talking about the reasons why you need money and what you can do with that money. However, writing your letter from this standpoint makes your reader only think about the money.

Let’s say you’re writing about an animal rescue cause. Instead of broadly speaking about how you want to help, looking after and rehome all the animals, highlight the case of one animal. Since the people you want to donate will find it much easier to connect with the idea of a single animal rather than just your cause’s location of operations.

2. Making Your Letter Personal

If your readers are reading your fundraising letter and they feel like they are just reading the content from a company or organisation, you’re not going to be able to strike passion into their lives.

When writing your letter, be personal, as though you’re speaking to the reader on a one-on-one basis.

3. Don’t Beat Around the Bush

At the end of the day, you and your readers both know that you’re writing to ask for money and donations, so there’s no point in trying to introduce this concept subtly.

By being clear that you’re asking for support and contributions, you’re invoking a feeling of trust and transparency in your organisation, something your readers will respect.

Writing the Perfect Fundraising Letter

When it comes to writing, not everyone is born to be a master. However, thanks to modern-day technology, you can write a perfect, error-free letter, every single time.

Highlight the Benefits of Spending

When writing your fundraising letter, you can’t simply just write about all the doom and gloom that’s going on in relation to your cause. To inspire and invoke hope in your readers, it’s important to highlight where you spend the donations and how the money benefits the audience for your cause.

This shows how much good you’re doing in the world. It makes it far more likely for a reader to donate so they can help you achieve those desired effects. Don’t forget to include relevant images in your content.

A Letter as Part of a Package

It’s important to remember that the letter is only one part of the package that you should be sending your readers. Within the fundraising letter, or alongside it, you need to remember to include a reply slip and note clearly in your letter just how the reader can donate and how much is recommended.

If it’s not clear how the reader can donate, they might try to look, but many will simply not put the effort in. Make your donation process as easy as possible for the maximum amount of donations.

About The Authour

Grace Carter is a business writer. She enjoys giving consultations to business leaders on improving public speaking.