Order, please
Your fundraising letter must be persuasive, interesting… and short. Once you’ve answered the questions and have some solid facts, it’s time to organize your letter. Your first line should be an attention-grabber. A good way to do this is to play on people’s emotions. If you are trying to organize a clothing drive, for example, you could start out by reminding people how uncomfortable it is to be cold in the winter with a story they can relate to.

Next, talk about the organization (if there is one) or yourself and your purpose in gathering donations of time or money. Discuss who it affects and how. It is important in this section to make it clear that your purpose is significant and worthwhile. For instance, if your goal is to borrow money from your parents in order to help pay for a new car, this section would involve explaining how their help in affording a larger down payment will, in the end, save you money that would have had to be paid in interest. With some numbers crunched to show how far that borrowed money would go to aid your purchase, it is easier to see the extent to which the loan could pay off.

he section after that should be about what the giver can receive in return. (You’ll have to get creative if borrowing from your parents, however.) Donating to charitable causes does not have to mean all you get is the satisfaction of knowing you did something nice. Many donations are tax deductible, meaning if you donate an old cell phone to a church or other organization that collects them, they can usually give you a receipt for the estimated value of that cell phone, which acts as a deduction from your owed taxes come April. Also, some places give out mementos of your generosity; the more times you give blood, for example, the cooler your thank-you gift, such as a sticker, a t-shirt, or a license plate frame boasting how many lives you potentially saved. You’ll look cool AND feel cool! However, don’t underestimate the power of a clearer conscience; sometimes, just knowing you helped someone in some small way can be enough satisfaction to convince someone to donate, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t offer a prize in return.