Sample Letters Asking for Donations

Looking for sample letters asking for donations? If you are in charge of fundraising for your group, the donation letter is one of many ways to reach your donors. But just how exactly do you ask donors to drop dollars into your organization's bank account?

Request for Donation Letters

Every good donation letter, starts by explaining the problem that your organization seeks to address. Be it that you are saving Gibbons in Africa or curing children's cancer, what is it exactly that you hope the donated funds will do. In explaining the problem, you need to remember that while the vision is crystal clear in your head, the problem may not be as obvious to your donors. In addition to communicating your passion for solving this problem, you also need to share statistics and other proof that the problem exists.

A charitable organization is never about money but rather about the people the organization is hoping to help. Think about the commercials that ask for aid for starving children in the world's underdeveloped nations. In almost every one, they start out by telling a personal story of someone that they are helping or have helped. This is different than explaining the problem. The problem should be a wide angle view of what is happening or what will happen should your organization not step in and help. The story should always seek to put a face and a name to the donation.

You have an overarching goal to help people or a specific situation. You have an example of someone who is being helped or has been helped. This is your vision and your mission. However, you also need to explain your specific goal to your donor. Are you seeking to raise millions for a new habitat area for rescued elephants? Seeking to provide art supplies and craft kits for the children in the hospital? Tell the donor exactly what their money is going to do. If the letter seeking donations is part of a capital campaign, give an overall goal.

• Note: The names and statistics in this sample are fictitious.

Dear Donor,

Did you know that in Genovia:

33% of kids ever get to see the inside of a high school classroom. 56% of kids will die from starvation or easily curable diseases before the see adulthood 2% of the population is literate

When I'm asked why we should care about what happens in Genovia, I think about Sophie. When Sophie first came to our school she couldn't read. As the eldest sister, she was in charge of caring for her siblings while her parents went out and worked. Her future looked bleak: without an education, she was destined to live a life on the streets. Because of our mobile school for Genovian children, we were able to provide comprehensive care for Sophie's whole family. Sophie got to attend school, while her younger siblings were also cared for.

Sophie is in medical school now. Her goal? To become a doctor and come back to work with Genovian children to provide much needed health care. Investing in Sophie's life, was like multiplying the investment and investing in all the children of Genovia.

This year, we have the ambitious goal of opening more Mobile Classrooms. Won't you consider helping us give the children of Genovia a brighter future? After all, investing in one child, is investing in an entire community.

Donation Letter Tips

There are numerous resources for the donation seeker. Not only can you get sample letters, but you can also find great advice in developing your vision and mission statement as well as how to make the big request.

Kidica.com offers a general sample letter for a direct-mail campaign.

Wright.edu has an excellent but short guide on components of a donation letter as well as several different samples.

USA Fundraising is an all-in-one place for fundraising ideas. This page includes several ideas on fundraising letters.

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