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3 tips for writing a donor recruitment letter
Direct mail is still the most effective way to recruit donors. With a good letter you can ensure that new donors give to your organisation or that existing relations give again. There are three important things to consider when writing a successful recruitment letter.
1. Your target audience
Who are you writing to? Are aiming to recruit prospective donors or are you writing a letter to contacts who have previously donated to your organisation? The target group determines the key elements of your letter.
Key parts of letters to potential donors:
- Who you are and what you do
- What you want
- Why should the prospect trust you?
- Why your organisation is important
- What you can mean to the potential donor
- Why you are asking for action now
Key parts of a letter to existing donors:
- What you did with the previous donation
- Were you grateful for it?
- What you want now
- Prove that you are doing a good job
- Explain who you are again
- Why you are asking for action now
2. Be personal
Use the recipient’s name. Use personal pronouns like you and me. Use characteristics of your reader: “as a parent you also know …” or “as a resident of …” Use handwriting in your letter.
3. Content counts
Your letter is not a brochure. Think of your fundraising letter as a written conversation with your donor. The structure and content of your letter determine its success. Use the checklist below to check the content of your letter.
Checklist for a good promotional letter:
- Is your opening sentence short and clear?
- Is your letter personal? Use “you and me” as much as possible
- Is the reason for your letter clear? “I am writing to you because …”
- What is the promise you can make?
- Is the letter urgent? Why are you writing now?
- Ask, Ask, Ask. Use at least three moments in your letter to ask for a donation.
- Is your (potential) donor at the heart of your letter? They are the hero of your story!
We love results
Mindwize is a fundraising agency. We believe in quantifiable results, that’s where our heart lies. Through proven, successful dialogue marketing techniques, we can achieve the highest net result for your organisation. Contact us today for a chat about getting better results for your organisation.
Tips for more donations
Based on our 30 years of experience, we have written a practical guide for fundraisers: ’99 Tips for more Donations’. We explain clearly which techniques positively influence the response.
Download our 99 tips and read more about:
- Tips for a successful newsletter
- Tips for creating a good story
- Tips for testing your fundraising program
- Tips for an envelope
And much more…
99 tips for more donations
This book is a practical guide for all fundraisers. Download the book and apply the tips today!