What is a letter writing campaign fundraiser?
A letter writing campaign is a simple, yet extremely effective, form of fundraising. In these campaigns, a person creates a written letter highlighting the who, what, and why of a fundraiser to be sent to potential donors. Most letter writing campaigns are now done online with electronic communications and an online donation page.
Why choose a letter writing campaign?
Many organizations are choosing letter writing campaigns over other fundraisers such as product sales because letter writing campaigns can be more efficient & effective fundraisers.
This fundraising method generally has lower associated fees, typically only fees from credit card processing. You can also reduce the time spent on activities like collecting order forms, coordinating with a vendor, and distributing goods by choosing a letter writing campaign instead of a product sale. As letter writing campaigns can be done online, you can prevent students from having to go door to door, keeping them safe and healthy.
How to run a letter writing campaign using Classmunity:
All successful letter writing campaigns have good planning and great team work. Here the steps to get started:
1. Set up your online donation page.
Log in to your Classmunity site and create a new donation campaign. You can find step by step directions on setting up your fundraising page here.
2. Write your promotion letter
Set yourself up for success by writing a letter that has an emotional appeal, includes how the donor can help, and the details on how to donate. Ryan Anderson has included some of his tips below, and we have included a sample letter for you too!
3. Set your goals for students
Make sure to set clear goals for your students. Set the expectations up at the beginning to reach your goal as a team. For example: how many asks/letters they need to send, set a dollar raised goal, or a number of donations goal.
4. Set your promoter page settings
Utilize a tool such as promoter pages to make it easy to track students progress to hitting the goals you set for them. Promoter pages allow you to set goal amounts, default custom messages and more. Learn how to manage promoter pages on our support site.
- Have your students set up promoter pages using these steps:
- Take out your computer or phone and go to your fundraising page.
- Click the gray “Promote This Fundraiser” button below the donate buttons to create your promoter page.
- Sign in or create an account.
- Add a picture to your promoter page, set your goal amount (how much you are hoping to raise) and your message.
- Start fundraising!
Spread the word about your fundraiser by sharing your unique promoter page on social media or email. All donations made through promoter pages are automatically attributed to the owner.
Tips from Fundraising Expert Ryan Anderson:
During his time as the Menomonee Falls Athletic Director, Ryan Anderson ran many letter writing campaigns. Here are his top 6 tips.
1- Make it personal- write to a person and not a group: IE: Dear Auntie Willow
2- Make it specific what they are raising money for… state a purpose.
3- Put a deadline on when the funds are needed by.
4- If they donated last year, acknowledge that by saying thanks for your support from last year…. will you donate again this year?
5- State the goal… what is the team doing? How much are you responsible for raising?
6- Always send a thank you note.
Sample Fundraising Letter:
A successful letter writing campaign has a letter (maybe more than one) that is clear, short, and enticing. Here is an example of a letter for a sports team or club running a letter writing campaign.
Dear [Donor’s prefered name],
My name is [your name] and I am [student year/position/role]. Our [team/club] just launched our [name of fundraiser]. Our goal is to raise [ $ amount] for [project goal].
[Add a personal connection to connect with the donor if possible. Were they an alumni of the program? Are they a family member?]
My personal goal for this fundraiser is to [insert personal goal]. Just a small donation will help me accomplish [explain exactly how their contribution will help. Example: attend nationals, purchase new uniforms, etc.]
You can make donations through my personal promoter page . If you cannot give and still want to support our fundraiser please share our page with your friends and family.
We would like to thank you for considering our fundraiser.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
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