5 Must-Dos for a KILLER Year-End Appeal Letter

The Donor Attraction Letter

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Today I’m bringing back this super important issue of The Donor Attraction Letter, which debuted last year around this time. Enjoy!

Are you ready?

The close of the calendar year will be here before you know it!

Because so many donors love to give at the holidays—and because many simply wait until the last minute—the next few months are an exciting time when nonprofits everywhere can capitalize on the year-end pot of gold.

So, your year-end letter has potential to bring in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You know the stakes are high. For many nonprofits, year-end is when a majority of their individual gifts come in.

Are you ready with a year-end appeal letter that opens hearts and wallets?

One that gets attention, deeply touches your past donors and new prospects, and inspires them to give generously?

Based on personal experience and lots of research out there, many nonprofits are making some BIG mistakes with their year-end appeal letter.

You can make sure yours isn’t missing the mark by incorporating these 5 MUST-DOs:

1. You MUST grab and keep attention with a touching story that pulls your donor in.

Remember, people give for emotional reasons. The best way for you to tap into your donor’s emotions is to tell her a compelling story that tugs at her heart.
 
Make it a story about ONE person (or child or family or maybe a rescued puppy) whose life is being positively and profoundly changed because of generous support from people like your prospective donor.
 
In your letter, tell the story with vivid detail and specific examples of what the person’s life was like before finding and getting help from your nonprofit. Oftentimes a “before and after” story format is terrific for weaving in dramatic details that get your donor feeling empathy and a strong desire to support your good work.

2. You MUST use the word YOU – a lot!

Check your last appeal letter. How many times does the word “you” appear?
 
Chances are good that your number isn’t big enough. This is one of the most important—yet often overlooked—ways to create a donor-centered letter that makes strong emotional connections.
 
There’s no rule for this, but I generally like to see at least DOUBLE the number of you words over “I” or “we.” Triple is even better!
 
Remember, your letter is from one person to another. It’s a conversation between two people. Your letter needs to have that one-on-one feel, like you’re writing to a good friend.
 
When you use “you” plentifully in your letter, you’re engaging me. My brain reacts differently and I feel like I’m a part of the story.  If your letter goes on and on about your organization without referring to me and how my support will help, I feel less connected and I tune out (read: your letter gets tossed aside).

3. You MUST include a strong, urgent call-to-action.

The purpose of your appeal letter is to get the reader to respond to your solicitation of support. To motivate your donor to send in her check or click over to your donate page, make your ask CLEAR, STRONG and URGENT.

Here’s an example:

Please give today with the enclosed reply card or online at www.XXXXX.org and your gift will be DOUBLED, making your gift goes twice as far for hungry children who don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

Don’t be afraid to use phrasing like “We need your support now” or “Please make a donation this very moment.”

Go ahead and let your donor know how vital her support is and how helpful her gift will be if she donates NOW.

4. You MUST repeat your ask many times.

If you feel that asking over and over in a letter feels “pushy,” I hope you’ll think again!

If you were to take a look at top-performing appeal letters written by master nonprofit copywriters, you’d see letters full of asks.

And that’s because asking many times throughout your letter works. Doing this reinforces your urgent message to give and reminds your donor just how important it is for you to receive her gift.

5. You MUST make it at least two pages.

Some nonprofits feel strongly about not going over one page for their appeal letters. Board members, executive directors and development teams may insist that a longer letter simply won’t get read in this age of over-communication.

But, this is a mistake.

Testing that’s been done by large, mid-size and small organizations alike show consistently that longer letters outperform shorter ones.

Why?

When done right, a compelling two-page or even four-page letter helps tell a more vivid, heart-tugging story. And it also provides you with more real estate to create a visually-appealing letter with adequate white space, a larger font size, indents and graphical elements.

The tips above are major MUST-DOs that are practically guaranteed to strengthen your year-end appeal letter and garner a higher response. Here are a few more tips to use, too:

  • Include a P.S. that features your ask again.
  • Indent the paragraphs.
  • Use a font size that’s large enough to read easily. 14 point font is quickly becoming the new standard.
  • Use varied sentence length. Use a lot of short sentences with a few longer ones interspersed.
  • Keep paragraphs on the short side.
  • Have it signed by the beneficiary in the story or a top leader who’s well liked (the CEO or perhaps a beloved board member).

The big takeaway is this:

To attract more and higher-level year-end gifts, create a fresh appeal letter centered around a beautiful story that opens your donor’s heart and motivates her to give NOW.

Start with the 5 MUST-DOs and tips above to develop a compelling emotional hook and format that will get your donor leaning in and making her year-end gift.

Dedicated to helping you attract and keep your donors,


Jen Viano
Nonprofit Writer/Consultant
Editor, The Donor Attraction Letter

PS: Need some help creating your year-end appeal letter? I’d love to work with you on it. Email me at Jen@JenViano.com to let me know and take first steps.