Sure, you double – and triple! – check your donation request letter for spelling and grammar errors, but do you check that it is written to raise the most money possible?

Read your finished letter again, and this time, fill out our Better Letter Checklist as you go. You may be surprised how much you can improve your results by making a few small changes.

Pay particular attention to these check boxes:

Appeal to emotions via narrative

Instead of overloading your donation letter with facts about your organization, use a story that demonstrates why these facts matter. It will make the donor’s impact tangible, personal, and emotional. If you’ve written “Last year, we provided food, shelter, and hope to over 1200 members of our community…” try “After losing his job and his home, Bob had given up hope—until he felt true compassion from neighbors like you who provided him with food, shelter, and the courage to get back on his feet” instead.

Use a limited vocabulary, short sentences and paragraphs

Edit out extra adjectives or adverbs, verbal crutches and circumlocutions. While it may seem that removing all these words will “dumb the letter down,” remember your donors are busy and, therefore, are typically letter scanners. Even the most educated readers will appreciate a letter that doesn’t take long to read and gets to the point. Your donation letter can still motivate donors to act without those extra eloquent adjectives and corporate words.

Ask for a specific amount, not just for “support”

Let’s be honest. It’s an appeal letter. Your readers know you’re asking them for money, so there is no need to dance around the ask with phrases like “your support.” The call to action must be direct to ensure the donor does take action. When you use a specific ask with a dollar amount, you take the guesswork out of donating—and by asking for it today, you create a sense of urgency.

“Will you make a year-end gift of $150 today? Your generous gift will enable us to…”

Reminds the donor of the benefits of giving

Donors make your organization’s work possible. Being credited as “supporters” is not always enough to fulfill the emotional motivating factors that move donors to give. A donation letter must reinforce their impact through phrases like “Thanks to you…” and “But without you…”, which give donors credit for the good work being done. After all, your letter is not about your organization—it’s about the donor.

Still need help with your donation request letter?

If you’re still having trouble checking off some of these boxes after editing your letter content, give us a call to learn more about the copywriting, copy editing and design services we offer here at Five Maples.

Let’s raise more money together!

Put our expert copywriting team to work for your donation request letter! Blending fundraising best practices with your organization’s individual tone, we can help you deliver the right message to the right donors to raise more money.

Contact us today at garyh@fivemaples.com for a free consultation.