Donation Letter : Definition, Types and How to Write it

Many nonprofit organizations are serving various causes around the world. Those who run these organizations, in order to meet up their operating cost, need to send letters for donations.

Definition of a Donation Letter:

Donation letters are known as a type of appeal. They are a tool that people or organizations use to attract prospective supporters to donate. Basically, they include a written document which asks for financial support. It also includes basic information about overall organizational and acknowledges a donor’s past efforts regarding donation.

In a word, donation letters inform your donors about your efforts and ultimately encourage donations.

Types of Donation Letters:

There are 3 kinds of Donation letters. For example:

Personal Donation Letter: Includes:

1. Donation Letter Asking Money for Oneself
2. Donation Gratitude Letter

Organization Donation Letter: Includes:

1. Hospital Donation Letter
2. Donation Letter to a Library
3. Donation Letter to Foundations
4. Donation Solicitation Letter
5. In-kind Donation Letter
6. School Donation Letter
7. Church Donation Letter
8. Animal Rescue Donation Letter
9. Acknowledging Donation Letter (see Acknowledgment Letter)

 Non-Financial Donation Letter: Includes:

1. Social Cause Voluntary Work Donation Letter
2. Donation Letter for a Baseball Team
3. Food Donation Letter
4. Auction Item Donation Letter

Format of a Donation Letter:

1. Insert your address and other contact information on the top of the letter. This will be very helpful for the institution that may want to send you a receipt or an acknowledgment
2. Then write down the date on which you are writing the letter.
3. Next will be the address of the institution to which the donation is being made. If it is a person and you know who you are writing to, then do mention the name of the person while writing the salutation.
4. Try to grab attention at the start of your letter. This will give you the choice to start with a good impression which is very important for such letters. You can state a story related to the cause for which you are asking for a donation. You should explain the situation related to the
5. Then, you can also state the details about your mission and your vision. This will help the reader know about your cause much clearly and relate thereby.
6. You can mention the previous donation results like did it work according to your expectation or if it had a positive impact or not. If the previous projects were successful, the reader might get a good impression of your organization.
7. If the donation letter is being written to a previous donor then you should be thankful for his/her donations.
8. Add a little bit as to what might happen if you don’t receive the donation and add a little emotional touch to it.
9. At the end of the letter mention the importance of donations and make him understand that his contribution will be useful.
10. Then express and show your gratitude to the reader for consideration and end.
11. Conclude the letter with your name and signature.

Tips to Follow:

1. Select a relevant audience that can help for the cause. Don’t select someone who can’t contribute to the required amount of money.
2. Maintain a friendly tone while writing such letters. Don’t get excited and write in over friendly tone while asking for donations.
3. Make the letter look reliable and by using stamps and labels.
4. Don’t feel shy to suggest the donation amount. It will help the reader to decide easily if he is going to donate or not.