Donation Letter - Two Examples that gets results

A letter asking for a donation is basically a sales letter. Follow my advice on sales letters when you write any donation letters.

The first letter is written for the solicitation of donations to a school for the gifted.

This letter is written in the traditional direct sales letter format.

The second letter includes a video within the letter itself.

This letter is much more effective in capturing the attention of potential supporters. Just have a quick look at the letter and see if it captures your attention within the first second.

Donation letter in a traditional direct sales letter format

Dear Ms. Daisy:

The Jim Carrie School for the Gifted has been presented with a rare and wonderful opportunity. An anonymous donor has offered us a 1-to-2 matching grant, based on our ability to raise donations.

You were such a strong supporter of the school in our time of crisis last year. We are turning to you now in hopes of enlisting your support. Basically, for every $2 you give, the donor will donate $1.

Thanks to your past support, we have brought the school out of the red. We have greatly broadened our donor base and are no longer dependent on a few benefactors. However, there is still much that remains to be done the salaries of our teachers remain relatively low compared to the national average and our facilities are in need of major renovation and maintenance.

Help us make the most of this opportunity.

Sincerely,

Donation letter with video to grab attention

As I have explained in the sales letter page, the problem with sales letters or in this case, donation letters; is the lack of attention people have these days. Every second, they are on Facebook, checking their Tweeter account, looking at emails or watching TV. I believe the best tool to get people's attention are videos. Below is a letter I have written for UNICEF.

Legal notice: I only donate to UNICEF. I am not affiliated with UNICEF in any way and I have not written a letter for them. This letter is just an example based on a video they have. While on this point, I do strongly urge you to support UNICEF. They do wonders for the kids they help.

This letter is written to people who have donated to UNICEF before announcing a new video that have just created and asking for further donations. This letter is delivered via email. Notice how you cant help but to look at the video when you see the letter.

Dear Ms. Trump:

First of all, I would like to thank you for the support you have given to UNICEF. Your contributions have helped provide many children with their basic needs. Basic needs like education, health care and protection we take for granted here in the US.

We have just created a new video to gather more support, and we would like your help. Please tell us what you think of the video.

The video is at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtSOjGZ40vs

You can let us know by adding your comments below the video on YouTube.

If you would like to, you can add additional donations at:
http://www.unicef.org/support/index.html

Thank you very much.

Warmest Regards,

Now you can compare the two donation letters above and I am sure the UNICEF letter has more of an impact. Now you might not have the financial resources UNICEF have but you can make a sales video too. The best part, it does not cost thousands of dollars. See the sales letters page to see how you can make a sales video too.