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The art of writing successful fundraising letters and emails can be learned once you know the essential details that are to be included in each of these mails. A letter that can generate a gift and builds a genuine relationship with your supporter is a successful one. Keep in mind that the long-term approach is to be preferred because your supporters need to be educated and nurtured over time. Here are some of the main details that must be included in your fund raising letters in order to transform them into successful and efficient tools. First, you need to keep the letter personal – your potential donor must understand that this letter was written by human beings and not by an institution. Unlike your fund raising events, the fund raising letters are person-to-person pieces of useful information. Therefore, they need to be written in a warm and personal tone. The fundraising letter must be conversational as well – it has to be read like a true conversation between two people. A conversational letter will involve the reader in its message without sounding too contrived. The fund raising letter must be addressed to your donor by name, it has to describe your fund raising cause in human terms, it has to be donor-centered and ask for a gift and it must educate your donor by appealing to his or her heart. In fact, all marketing is based on people’s emotions – emotions play a vital role in every decision-making process and your fund raising letters shouldn't be the exception from this case. Therefore, your fund raising letter must include some basic appeals in order to make people donate money to your organization. First, your best approach would be to assume an altruistic motive and continue by appealing to other motives in a subtle way. Just assume the best of your potential donors. Another thing you might consider is to find what your potential donors believe in order to make sure that the message of your fund raising letter is consistent and meets their beliefs. Compassion is another key factor in a fund raising letter because it can make people donate money for your charity. For instance, you can try to generate sympathy by painting a picture of the people who really need their help. But you have to be careful as well because if the problem is too distasteful, you can generate revulsion instead of sympathy and make your potential donor turn away. The so-called ego gratification can work miracles as well – try to induce a feeling of well being in your donor. You can do this by using a flattering tone in your fundraising letter. Fear is another strong motivator that can be used in order to make people want to donate money to your organization. For instance, if you fund raise for cancer research, you can emphasize this idea by saying that this research might save the donor’s own life in the future to come. Discomfort and guilt are other emotional allies that can be used in every fundraising appeal. For instance, you should try and create a level of genuine discomfort about the cause or problem you are presenting. The simple thought of not giving money can cause a genuine feeling of guilt within the readers. Finally, don’t forget to congratulate your donors for the choice they have made – for instance, you can give them a certificate or another form of public notice in order to make them feel appreciated for their kind gesture.
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