Use this outline to write your year-end appeal letter
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Hi Reader, Year-end appeal letters tend to get written the night before they need to go to the printer. The letter ends up as a list of what your organization needs instead of something a donor wants to read. Here's the quick five-part outline I'd use to make it as compelling as possible - in the least amount of time! Open with one moment Start with one person or one specific moment from your program, in two or three sentences. Skip the statistic. A donor can picture a single moment much more easily than "4,000 people served." Name the need in one paragraph Say what's at stake this year and tie it to a number. "We're $40,000 short of the budget for [program]" gives a donor something concrete to help close. Keep it to one paragraph so the ask isn't buried. Ask for a specific amount Here's what I'd do: name one amount and say what it does. "A gift of $100 provides [specific result]." Then offer two or three other amounts so donors can choose the one that fits. Tell them what their gift does Describe what changes when they give, using "you" and "your gift." The key here is to keep the focus on the donor's impact, not on your organization's budget. End with a P.S. The P.S. is often the part people read first. Repeat the ask and the deadline in one sentence, and sign the letter with a real name (by hand, for your top donors). And don't forget to tell them where to donate! If you want a fully designed year end package ready to go (professionally designed letter, reply card, social media templates, emails and more), check out my End of Year Fundraising Package. It's one of the biggest time savers I offer!
Cheers, |