If you are a part of an organization that needs to raise funds for a cause, then you probably need to write fundraising letters. In this article, you can learn how to write donation letters with the help of a sample to serve as a guideline.
A donation letter is an important letter to write if you are a part of a non-governmental organization or voluntary organization that is working towards raising funds for a cause. Letter writing in such a case needs to put forward your cause without sounding like their donation is a matter of life or death. It is important that you sound professional while writing the letter. This article gives you tips of how to write such a letter, a template for a donation request letter and a sample of the same.
Tips for Writing Donation Letters
If you are asking for donations for a fundraiser or a social cause, then you may have to send out letters which formally describe your need for funds from a prospective sponsor. A sample letter can help you in writing your own letter by acting as a blueprint for the same. But there are some things that you need to keep in mind while writing a donation letter. These tips that you should keep in mind are listed below.
- Always begin the letter with a formal salutation mentioning the name of the person addressed in the letter.
- Introduce the reason for which you are writing the letter in precise terms. Do not elaborate unnecessarily but do provide the addressee with all the details that can be deemed necessary.
- While stating what you expect from the addressee, ensure that you do not sound needy. Write the letter in such a way that the addressee feels like being an active part of a good cause and is convinced to donate to the event.
- Always end your letter by thanking the addressee for taking out valuable time from his/her schedule to read your letter and thinking about the cause that you and your organization work for.
Template
A good introduction is the key constituent of any good letter sample. A template is a good guide to anyone who needs to understand the format of a fundraising letter. Given below is a template that will clear all the doubts that you have.
| Your Name Name of Your Organization Address Date Name of Client Salutation/Greetings The introductory paragraph of the letter should focus on introducing yourself and the cause and organization for which you are raising funds. You should mention how you are associated with this organization and what you do for them. It is in this paragraph that you should also mention how you intend to raise these funds and where the proceeds from these funds will be diverted. The second paragraph should detail out the event that you are planning to organize and how you would like the addressee to help with the event. Since this is more or less a fundraising or sponsorship letter, you may have to guarantee the addressee some kind of coverage in return. Ensure that you mention this publicity in the second paragraph of the letter. In the third paragraph, you should thank the addressee for sparing their valuable time in reading this letter and mention your contact details so that the addressee can contact you if necessary. Valediction/Goodbye |
Sampler
Sample letters are helpful in understanding how formal or informal the letter needs to be. It also serves as a good example for the different kinds of donation request letters that may have to be written depending on the need of the hour. Given below is a sample that may be a general guideline as to how a donation letter should be written.
| Ashley Karr Edukids Oak Street Devon California 46588-2134 03/05/2010 James Ryan Dear Mr. Ryan, I, the undersigned, am writing to you on behalf of Edukids, an organization that is working for the cause of education in third world countries. I am the coordinator of the Annual Fundraising Fete that Edukids organizes every year in order to increase awareness and raise funds for these kids, who have never even stepped into the hallways of a school, lacking not just the money to go to an educational institute but also lacking the infrastructure for a school. During the fete that we organize, we donate all the money that we earn towards buying books and building schools in these places. As of today, our focus regions are areas in Nepal and Bangladesh. The Annual Fundraising Fete will be organized this year on the 15th of April. We have already contacted a number of local dealers, malls, and philanthropists to raise funds for the event. Your contribution to the event may go a long way in making this fete a grand success. We would be grateful, if you would agree to set up a food stall of Via Italy, your restaurant at the fete. In return for your generosity, we would be more than happy to mention your restaurant’s name on all the publicity material that we are designing. I would like to thank you for considering our request to team up with our organization for raising funds. If you have any queries regarding our organization or the event being organized, please feel free to contact me at the address given above or at the email id, [email protected]. Thanking you, Yours sincerely |
If you have received a donation from one of your addressees, it is important that you send out a thank you letter for the donation that they have made. There are several sites online and books available in the market that have numerous letters and samples of thank you letters for donations that you can download and use, but it is always a good idea to write your own letter to make it sound more personal.
