Do you know how to write a church fundraising letter?  Believe it or not that is one of the most asked questions on the Internet.  Appeal letters written correctly are one of the best ways to increase giving at your church.  The key is writing them well.  That is what I want to share with you in this post.

Do appeal letters actually work?  Yes!  While online giving and email appeals get the most buzz non-profit charities still raise the vast majority of their annual giving through well-crafted appeal letters.  I can assure you that if they did not see results from this strategy they would not continue to send out letters.  So, let’s learn from them and get your appeal letter in the mail.  But first, let’s establish some key points.

Vision drives dollars even in a snail mail letter.  The reason most direct mail letters fail for churches is not that they are not written well but that the message is not appealing.  Every appeal letter MUST touch the heart of the donor before they will send you any money.  What is the vision driving the appeal of your letter.

Remember the 3 C’s of vision your letter MUST have.  Make your the vision of your appeal…

  • Clear – If I can’t make sense of what my gift will accomplish I will not give.
  • Concise – Get to the point.  I am a one page appeal guy.  If you can’t state what the appeal is in one page then no one will get where the dollars are going.  They also won’t read the letter!
  • Compelling – The more compelling the message the more effective the results.

My top 10 writing tips for church fundraising letters – Since I am an advocate of writing concise appeal letters let me list out my top 10 writing tips.

  1.   Write and send them!  You won’t know if appeal letters work or not if you don’t first send them.  So, get your letter in the mail!
  2.   Don’t be boring.  I always try and tell a story of real life change that will make my letters interesting.
  3.   Start with a bang!  If you don’t grab their attention in the first few lines they won’t read the letter and you won’t get any money.
  4.   Get in and get out.  The second C of the vision is concise so, get to the point!
  5.   Personalize it.  Dear Mark is much better than Dear Church member.
  6.   Use bold and underlined text.  Just as your eye was drawn to the bold in my text so will your readers be drawn to your bold and underlined text.
  7.   Use bullet points.  People skim so make it easy for them to get the facts quickly.
  8.   Always include a PS.  Studies show people almost always read a PS.
  9.   Always include an envelope.  Make it easy for people to respond and they are more likely to respond.
  10.   Consider inserts.  Inserts allow you to say more and they are almost always looked at even if your letter is not read.

Using these key tips you can write an effective fundraising letter for your church.  So, get started on crafting your letter today!  Remember, fundraising letters will only work if you send them!

Mark Brooks – The Stewardship Coach