Thank you so much for joining me today. I know that some in this class are here because

they have to graduate, while others are truly interested in a career in institutional

development. I believe that learning how to write successful letters—fundraising or

otherwise will help us in both our professional and personal lives. Therefore, after

reading Mal Warwick’s book on how to write successful fundraising letters I have

compiled a list of a few tips for successful letter writing.

A fundraising letter is like a personal visit (Chapter 2).

In fact, A famous German Professor of direct Marketing, Siegfried Vogel, states

that a direct mail letter is successful when it successfully involves the reader in a

silent dialogue with the signer. In other words, the letter should be written as though

the author is speaking with the recipient.

The letter is often your first chance to impress and inform an individual about

your organization. Impressing the reader is especially important since Vogel

estimates we devote no more than 10 percent of our attention to reading unsolicited

mail. Therefore, the letter must be spell the recipients name correctly, catch the

reader’s attention, and answer the recipient’s main questions about the organization.

One often forgotten important piece of a direct mail letter is the post-script. In fact

Vogel estimates that 90 percent of direct mail recipients read the post script first.

A successful fundraising letter possesses the following three characteristics (Chapter

4)

An effective fundraising letter is an appeal from one person to another

An effective fundraising letter describes an opportunity for the recipient to

meet personal needs by supporting a worthy charitable aim

An effective fundraising letter invites the recipient to take specific and

immediate action

To write a successful fundraising appeal you must also determine your target audience

and the purpose you want to serve. For example, do you want to acquire new donors,

upgrade old ones, or enlist support for a new or special project?

What to do before writing a fundraising letter (Chapter 6)

Effective writing begins with clear, uncluttered thinking. Before you set down on

paper a single word of your next fundraising appeal, you need to understand your

audience and why you are writing to them.

Knowing the answers to these questions will help you construct a powerful

marketing concept or executive summary of your letter.

Ask your self the following questions before beginning to write:

People: What do they have in common with each other? How can they be

distinguished? How do they relate to your organization? Who is the typical

recipient and why will they respond positively?

Do: Think about what you want them to do and express it clearly in your

letter. For example, what is the minimum amount of money you hope to

receive. This is crucial because the ask that is set, determines the amount

received

Why: Why are you asking for the money? What problem, need, or opportunity

prompted your agency to send this appeal

Who: Make sure that your letter reflects the personality of the signer and

indicates a clear connection between the signer and appeal.

What: What are the intangible and/or tangible benefits of replying to the

appeal?

Need: Is the need immediate or will it still be needed in the future? Is their a

deadline and is so what happens if you do not receive responses?

Once you have answered these questions you can sum up all this information

in one paragraph—called a marketing concept. Be as specific and precise as

possible, and write the paragraph in the first person and address it to the

typical individual who will be receiving your letter. Keep in mind that the

marketing concept is simply a way to get started.

So now that you know what to do before starting to write a fundraising letter we

can now move to

8 steps towards successful fundraising letters (Chapter 7)

Develop the marketing concept

Determine the contents of the package: For example, are you going to write a

long letter or a short one?

Draft the reply letter

Write the outer envelope

Write the lead: If the opening paragraph of a letter doesn’t engage the reader’s

attention, he’s unlikely to read further. Research shows the lead of the letter

has higher readership than any other element, with exception to the outer

envelope copy and the Post Script.

Write the P.S.:

Consider Subheads and Underlining

[Finally] Write the Text:

Cardinal Rules of Fundraising Letters (Chapter 8)

When writing the text use “I” and “you” but mostly “you.”

State how helping your organization will benefit your donor not how it will

benefit you

Ask for money not support

Write a package not a letter: Everything from your outer envelope, letter,

reply envelope, outer envelope, and reply envelope should reflect each other

Write in simple, straightforward English

Format your letter for easy reading:

Indent every paragraph

Avoid paragraph’s more than seven lines long

Bullets and indented paragraphs

Use subheads in long language

Give your reader’s a reason to send money NOW

Write as long a letter as you need to make the case for your offer

Thank you so much for your time. I hope that you now understand the elements that

go into writing a successful fundraising letter. However, perhaps the most important

step towards writing successful fundraising letters is to just start writing. Do you have

any questions?