Writing a Donation Letter

A donation letter, when written well and used correctly can be a great way to get others engaged financially in your nonprofit. A letter personally written to the donor asking for their help is the right and respectable way to engage donors. A donation letter personally written to a few people will get far greater results than a large number of form letters.

When writing a donation letter, it is best to share a real story of someone impacted by the non profit so that the potential donor can understand the impact their donation can have. This gives your letter a human touch and an aspect they can relate to. No one wants to give hard-earned money away without knowing it is going to a good cause.

In the sample donation letter below, a short story is shared about how past donations have been used to impact a little boy and his folks. Then a vision is shared of the challenge the non profit centers on. Ultimately, a request is made of the donor on how their donation can make a difference in the life of a little girl and her family. The donation letter concludes by informing the donor that a personal telephone call will be made in 1 or 2 days to him by the executive director. On the phone call the director would like to talk about his initial and continuing support.

The Donation Letter

John Smith

Project Manager
Sam’s Club
123 Anywhere Drive
Anywhere, State, 98765
US
(123) 456-7890

Date: August 17, 2011

Susan Jones
Executive Director
ABC Nonprofit
987 Sample Street
Any Town, State, 12345
USA
(987) 654-3210

Dear Mr. Smith:

I would like to share a quick story with you about a little boy named Joe. When Joe was just 3, he was identified with a tumorous growth that needed surgery and chemotherapy. Due to complications , it also required a stay in a children’s infirmary for 6 months. As you can imagine, that isn’t much fun for a small child. In addition, the parent’s insurance ran out leaving them broke. Thanks to ABC Non-profit, we managed to cover most of Joe’s surgery and medical expenses and get Joe’s family back on their feet. Joe is living a very happy regular life as a 5 year old and the family is doing well.

This story is repeated hundreds of thousands of times a year by youngsters and families across the US. ABC non-profit is devoted to helping families like Joe’s cope with, and overcome what could be devestating circumstances. Thru donations from others who aren’t faced with such challenging problems in their own life, ABC non profit is able to extend compassion to these families in their time of need.

I am writing to request your assistance to meet the needs of the thousands of families we are going to help just like Joe’s this year. I’d personally like to ask for your gift of any amount that be used to show these families that you care about them. ABC Non profit is currently helping a little girl named Abby who has Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) and her folks who’ve no insurance.

Your gift together with others gifts will go right to Abby and her folks to make sure they get through this challenge knowing that you care very much about them. In addtion, I will send you continual updates about Abby and her family so you can rest assured they’re looked after.

I am going to be following up this letter personally with a telephone call in the next day or two to respond to any questions that you may have and to speak about the help we will be able to make together in Abby’s life.
You can get in touch with me on my phone or email address - susan.jonesabcnonprofit.org with your questions about this request.

Yours respectfully,

Susan Jones

Other Parts of a Donation Letter

With no exceptions, a donation letter should look great and whether hand written or typed should be on expertly designed and printed letterhead. A professional looking letter will put the potential donor’s mind at ease that the non profit is real.

Follow-up to a donation letter is a must. Simply sending a letter hoping someone will open it, read it and act is only impractical thinking. Once you have taken the time to personally write the letter, invest the additional 5 minutes speaking to the individual and building a relationship. You expect this person to freely give to your non profit so put in the effort to respect them as an individual. Following these guidelines when writing a donation letter will assure your letter gets read and acted on.

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