Sample letter requesting donation for medical expenses

What Are They?

General fundraising letters are what most people think of when they think about written fundraising appeals. They’re a standard way to ask individuals for donations. These letters are typically one page, but never longer than two pages.

General fundraising letters detail your organization’s needs, let the donor know how they can help, and thank the donor for any previous involvement they may have with your organization.

When Should You Use Them?

Fundraising letters for general donations can be sent at any time of year, but they are particularly effective during end-of-year fundraising. They allow your nonprofit to spell out your needs and speak directly to donors about how they can help.

You can also send fundraising letters out as part of your annual campaign. Send out several letters a year, but don’t stuff your donors’ mailboxes! Space out your mailings over several months.

What Are They?

Sponsorship letters are very similar to general donation request letters; however, they typically contain information about an incentive that a donor can receive in exchange for a donation.

Fundraising letters asking for sponsorships are used to raise money for events. Nonprofits usually are unable to cover all of the costs associated with an event, particularly a large one such as a gala or a marathon.

Instead of paying for everything out of pocket, the nonprofit will send out a sponsorship fundraising letter asking a business or individual to help cover the cost of the event. In exchange, the nonprofit offers an incentive, such as advertising space in a program or on t-shirts, a special booth at the event site, or inclusion on the nonprofit’s online “Partner List.”

When Should You Use Them?

Sponsorship letters are used in conjunction with other fundraising methods to help cover the cost of an event. They should be sent at least a few months before the day of the event itself.

Most of the time, a nonprofit will send a sponsorship request letter to a corporate partner, but they can also be sent to individuals who already have close ties with the organization, either through volunteerism or donations.

In both cases, it’s important to pick the right recipient for your sponsorship letter. If you send a letter to a random company or individual, you aren’t likely to hear back. Your best bets for successful sponsorships are your current corporate partners and volunteers or donors who have repeatedly demonstrated their dedication to your nonprofit.

What Are They?

If your nonprofit needs more volunteers for an event or project, you can send out letters to your supporters to recruit more people.

Volunteer time request letters spell out your organization’s need for volunteers and often give your supporters a chance to indicate how they would prefer to get involved with your nonprofit.

This allows everyone to be a part of your volunteer efforts in a way that works best for them and your nonprofit.

When Should You Use Them?

Letters that are asking for volunteer time should be sent to your supporters a few weeks or even months ahead of your designated volunteer event. You should also supplement your letters with emails and phone calls.

You’ll need time to figure out where to place all of your volunteers and work out the logistics of your event or project. 

Volunteer letters can be sent to existing volunteers as well as donors who you think might be interested in volunteering.

What Are They?

While most of a nonprofit’s revenue comes from individual donors, there is still a significant portion that is supplied by companies and businesses.

However, your organization has to ask for these corporate donations, and that’s where these fundraising letters come in!

Unless you know a particular corporate leader or business owner particularly well, you can’t just march into a company and ask for money or in-kind donations. Fundraising letters are a way to introduce yourself and your nonprofit and ask for monetary or other kinds of help.

When Should You Use Them?

Most corporate fundraising letters are used to ask for in-kind donations for special projects, events, or other initiatives.

Nonprofits often can’t cover all of the costs associated with these projects, so they turn to companies and in-kind donations to help make up the difference.

Fundraising letters that ask for corporate support are used when you need to get your foot in the door of a company or business. They’re the perfect way to introduce yourself and your nonprofit, ask for a meeting, and illustrate your need for monetary or in-kind donations.

What Are They?

If your nonprofit hosts a silent, live, or online auction, you’ll need to obtain unique and desirable items for your attendees to bid on. It doesn’t make sense to go out and buy these items, and the less you spend on auction items, the greater your return on investment will be for your auction.

Instead, you should have these unique items and experiences donated by companies or individuals in your community.

A fundraising letter asking for auction items allows you to explain your nonprofit’s needs and enables donors to fill out a small sheet that lets you know that they’re interested in contributing.

When Should You Use Them?

Fundraising letters that ask for silent, live, or online auction items should be sent out a few months ahead of your event date. You need to give your recipients time to think about your request and figure out what product, item, or experience they’d be willing to donate to your auction.

You can send out your letters to both corporate partners and donors who have a relationship with your nonprofit.

If you’re looking for items or experiences to auction off at your next event, you’ll need these fundraising letters to get the word out and put biddable items on the auction block.

What Are They?

Much of fundraising has moved online. From crowdfunding to other methods of online donation collection, asking for donations online is now commonplace. While you might be sending a letter analog-style, via direct mail, your supporters could be interested in donating online.

As such, an online donation request letter is a fundraising letter that includes mention of an online campaign and provides the URL for the campaign.

When Should You Use Them?

The short answer is simple. You should use online donation request letters when you’re running a campaign. Make sure to send them out at the beginning of the campaign so that the messages have time to reach your prospects and donors.

While your online donations might be digital, your promotions should go beyond digital if you truly want to reach a broad audience of supporters.

What Are They?

Fundraising event invitations are more than just invites, they’re fundraising letters. When someone buys a ticket to your event or sponsors a table, they’re donating to your cause, even if it isn’t a donation in the traditional sense.

Event invitations should always include the date, the location, the start time, a brief background on your cause, and ticket pricing. 

When Should You Use Them?

Event invitations should be sent out as early as possible in order to ensure your supporters have time to consider and respond. Additionally, if you’re needing RSVPs, you’ll want to build in a buffer so your team can plan according to invite responses.

Send your fundraising event invitations no later than 4 weeks out from the event, but it’s best to send invites approximately 3 months ahead of time.