5 Fundraising Appeal Letter Hacks

Add some muscle to your next appeal letter to help it stand out in a crowded mailbox.

During the holiday season, everything that comes into your mailbox, from bills to credit card offers, are adorned in festive colors and glitter. So, it helps to add something special to an appeal letter to ensure that it will stand out from the colorful crowd.

Have your next appeal letter move into the spotlight. Follow these 5 fundraising appeal hacks:

1. Include images in your appeal letter:

2d1c29_b4752f54020647a1954382f4cd52742a

Adding photos to the body of the letter helps to give a face to the story, to the need, and to the reason a donor is giving. Photos also help engage a reader in the letter by helping them make a personal connection to it.

2. Add a colorful buck slip alongside your appeal letter:

2d1c29_cc2b6c824bc34b0896def3d36403d514

This mailing insert, approximately the size of a dollar bill (which is how it gets its name), provides room for additional graphics, images, and appeal information that can help enumerate the impact of a donation.

3. Use color and unique typography in the body of your appeal letter:

2d1c29_54850f1ab38e462996a0140550b1a328

By adding color and typographical emphasis, the reader can easily find the most important parts of your appeal letter. This also helps to break apart larger blocks of text to be easier to read and thus keeps their attention longer.

4. Add artwork or a tagline to the outer envelope:

2d1c29_ea4b07916ed64c6cba068afd4b711c1e

The envelope is an important part of the overall appeal package, but is so often overlooked (both during the design process and once it’s in the mailbox). The design of it helps to encourage the donor to open it.

5. Personalize the letter by including the following:

  • The recipient’s last gift amount: this helps to remind the donor of how much they previously gave and also gives them a point of reference for another gift.
  • A targeted ask amount: by personalizing the appeal letter with a specific ask for each letter, rather than a general ask, this helps to give the donor an understanding of how they can specifically help.
  • The recipient’s class year: by referencing a specific year, you help remind them of their experiences at the school and the reasons for giving back.
  • Add a P.S. line that repeats the call to action: use this important part of the letter to summarize the entire message – the ask, deadline, and call to action – so that when the reader’s eyes go to the bottom of the page, they have all the information.

What techniques have you used? Connect with us and let us know.

by

School Challenges Unite Alumni & Friends

 School Challenges are one of the best ways to boost alumni participation quickly.

Regis College ran a successful school challenge after receiving a generous pledge to the annual fund of $25,000. A Regis couple asked their fellow alumni and friends to rise to the school challenge and make 600 gifts to Regis by the end of the calendar year. Long story short, they surpassed their goal with 799 donations.

The results showed that the challenge was a great way to:

  • Secure participation rates early on in the fiscal year
  • Get never-donors to make their first donation
  • Increase gift amounts from current donors
  • Show the Regis community that their peers (alumni, faculty, staff, and parents) are actively giving back.

Find out how Regis made it all happen here.

Regis College is a great example of executing a successful school challenge. To reach success, it’s important to remember that you must have ample preparation in your outreach and marketing materials in order to generate the best results.

If you’re interested in learning how BCG Connect can help you with your school challenge to boost alumni participation quickly, connect with us! We have partnered with a number of clients to improve their school challenge direct marketing materials to optimize donor engagement

by

Spotlight: Bentley University’s Philanthropy Week

#bentleygives
Bentley created a week of on-campus activities, all centered on philanthropy.

For 2015, this week of events was creatively branded with the slogan, “Bentley Runs on Philanthropy,” a spinoff of the Dunkin’ Donuts “America Runs on Dunkin'” slogan. This played well into the week’s events, which were full of coffee and running.

2d1c29_c1c924cdd48743a38e8908756567508a

Above: Branding the campaign: “Bentley Runs on Philanthropy”

Calling all coffee lovers and do-gooders…
To kick off the giving week, students were given free coffee and donuts. Then, it was their turn to “pay-it-forward” by buying a friend’s coffee. Next, they were asked to donate to Relay for Life with spare, coffee-cup change – every penny counts!

This all led up to the final event – the “Neon Run,” an organized race where students dressed to match the neon theme in glowing garb. It was a chance to show their school spirit, run with friends, and of course enjoy a cup of coffee (waiting for them at the finish line). This was a way to get students involved with supporting the Bentley Annual Fund – their registration fees were donated to the Annual Fund.

2d1c29_9fb91b9273cd463ab464324b3b67ba4f

It just goes to show – giving back can be fun too!

Success!
Bentley has had great success with this strategy over the past couple of years. In addition to getting students involved in their annual fund even before they become “young alumni”, Philanthropy Week continually:

  • Raises awareness of the Bentley Annual Fund – teaching students why it’s important to give back
  • Fosters a philanthropic culture among students
  • Provides a fun incentive for students to make a donation

View complete portfolio of event materials (crafted by Boston Color Graphics) here.

Connect with us today.

by

Boost Alumni Participation and Raise Money – Quickly

Rally Day is Noble and Greenough School’s giving day. Like many schools looking to improve young alumni participation, Nobles designates one day a year to giving. Rally Day takes over the school’s Instagram, Twitter feed, Facebook page and campus grounds, as students display their school pride and thanks for giving with signs and t-shirts, while volunteers take to the phone lines to rally support from recent grads.

Last year was a success, as Nobles surpassed their goal of 500 gifts with an end result of more than 600 gifts and pledges, which set the bar even higher for this year’s Rally Day with a goal to bring in 605 gifts and pledges.

“We certainly would not have had these results without the direct mail marketing and click-to-pledge emails as well as the social media promotion we did prior to Rally Day.”

-Allie Trainor, Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Noble and Greenough School

Giving days and participation challenges are a great way to boost alumni participation, especially with young alumni, and raise money quickly. It provides a friendly competition – whether that’s between different grades/classes, organizations, parents/faculty/students, or being able to unlock a gift from a generous donor.

BCG Connect works with clients on their giving day campaigns to provide direct marketing materials to support the event. It is critical to have an integrated campaign for the giving day to ensure that all individuals are aware and prepared for the day. Learn more about how we helped Noble and Greenough School with their successful giving day in the case study download.

Noble and Greenough successful giving day download!

Complete the form below to download the full case study

by