Many community organizations send out a Thanksgiving donation letter, which is also known as a Thanksgiving appeal. The idea is to appeal to supporters to assist the organization during the holiday season, when they may be feeling grateful and have a spirit of giving on their minds. One of the sample letters below may provide a great starting point for putting together a letter to send to your list of potential donors.
Two Seasonal Sample Donation Letters
The sample letters presented here can be downloaded and edited to meet the needs of any nonprofit organization. If you'd like to use one of the letters, simply click the image. It will open as a PDF file that you can edit, save and print as needed using the menu commands. If you need help downloading the letters, check out these helpful tips.
Raising Money for Thanksgiving Meals
This letter is designed for organizations seeking funds to help purchase supplies that will be used to prepare meals for needy individuals on Thanksgiving Day.
Requesting Financial Support at Thanksgiving
This letter is a sample request for financial support, tailored specifically to appeal to potential donors during the Thanksgiving season.
Thanksgiving Fundraising Success Tips
Just like with any other fundraising letter, the wording on your Thanksgiving appeal affects how effective it will be. As with any fundraising letter-writing campaign, make sure the document is well-written and free from mistakes before you send it out. Additional tips include:
- Seasonal appeal - Tailor your message to the spirit of the Thanksgiving season, coming up with an emotional appeal that may be persuasive to someone who is reflecting over all he has to be thankful for.
- Impact - Let donors know what their money will be used for, giving specific information that can help them see how their donation can have a positive impact. For example, reveal the fundraising goal, give statistics about how many people your organization helps and how much, on average, it costs to provide assistance to each one.
- Specific request - Tell potential donors exactly what you're asking for. Is it money? Is it an item? Is it a gift of time? Then explain how this donation, no matter what form it is in, will make someone's life better. Making a compelling appeal is essential for a successful campaign.
- Call to action - Tell the individual reading the letter exactly what you would like him to do. For example, the sample letters above specifically ask for a financial gift and clearly explain how donations can be made. If you're looking for something other than money, use a similar strategy.
- Simplify giving - Make it as easy as possible for donors to contribute to your cause. If you are soliciting money, you should accept all forms of payment. If you are asking for time donations or items to be dropped off, put a flexible schedule and procedure in place.
Seasonal Charitable Support
With a well-written, properly timed donation request, you may find that Thanksgiving is an ideal time to secure financial support from donors. Since people tend to be in a reflective mood in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving but have not yet started purchasing Christmas gifts in earnest, this may be the ideal time to build relationships with new donors and well as receive additional support from those who have contributed previously.
