Send a Successful Annual Appeal: Tips and Strategies
![This guide offers tips and a checklist for writing an effective annual appeal letter and launching a productive fundraising campaign.](https://bloomerang.co/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Annual-Appeal_Feature.jpg.webp)
Sending an annual appeal letter is one of the most important fundraising initiatives you carry out each year. It’s a chance for you to share your successes, highlight how important a donor’s support has been to your mission, and make a fundraising appeal.
You’ve likely seen that your annual appeal inspires donors to make some of the largest donations your organization receives in a given year. This is why it’s so important that you take a strategic approach to creating the message you share and develop the right marketing strategy to get the letter to the right donors at the right time.
In this guide, we’ll cover what your nonprofit needs to know about writing an effective annual appeal letter and share other ways you can engage with donors to raise more funds to support your mission. We’ll review:
Sending a compelling annual appeal letter can go a long way toward boosting your organization’s donor retention rate, which means you’ll be able to count on sustainable support from donors in the years to come.
That’s why we put together a template that takes you through the process of crafting an engaging and compelling appeal letter.
Follow these tips to ensure that your letter is as effective as possible:
Once you’ve completed this process and feel like you’re ready to do a final review of your letter, ask yourself the following questions:
Once you’ve written your annual appeal letter, you need to get it to the right donors at the right time. That means you need to develop a strong marketing and outreach plan that will help you connect with donors and make your case for support.
Here are six things you can do to reach your donors and encourage them to support your cause:
The best strategies and initiatives are the ones that are supported by the best tools.
Here are just a few of the software solutions that will help you fundraise more effectively:
By investing in solutions that help you work more efficiently, you’ll free up time to focus on the tasks that help you move your mission forward in other ways. You can learn more about the software solutions that you can invest in via this Bloomerang post.
By writing an appeal that acknowledges current events, you show supporters that you’re paying attention to and adapting to urgent needs. This will make your call to action even more compelling.
For instance, if your organization addresses the effects of climate change, you could incorporate a recent study about the impact of climate change on native species and how donors can help fight habitat loss. Or, if you work to improve healthcare services in underserved communities, you might share information about the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the people affected and what your nonprofit can accomplish if your supporters make a donation.
Take a look at how the International Rescue Committee changed its homepage to call attention to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine and the impact it’s had on people in conflict zones. By addressing this current event right on the homepage, the IRC shows its commitment to helping the most vulnerable people now.
As with our recommendations above, this adds a sense of urgency to your call to action and will inspire supporters to give sooner rather than waiting until a future date to donate.
A story is an incredibly powerful tool for engaging your audience and inspiring them to take action. By sharing stories that show the impact your nonprofit has on the communities you’re trying to serve and the issues you’re trying to address, you’re giving donors an easy way to visualize the impact they can have when they give to your organization.
For instance, check out the Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s robust news and stories section on their website. This offers a space for everyone involved in the organization’s mission—including parents, youths, alumni, and staff—to make the work the nonprofit does more personal.
There are other approaches you can take to show your nonprofit’s impact in a tangible way. For instance, try interviewing your constituents, staff members, volunteers, donors, board members, and stakeholders. When possible, include photos and videos and share these in your appeals. Or, share your fundraising metrics with your audience. You might share how many new volunteers you’ve welcomed onto your team in the last year, or highlight how many donors took advantage of corporate philanthropy opportunities over the last six months.
When it comes to direct mail campaigns, we believe following the 40-40-20 Rule is an effective way to raise more funds. This rule states that the success of a direct mail campaign is 40% dependent on the quality of your mailing list, 40% on how you communicate your impact (including the messaging you use and stories you tell), and 20% on the creative aspects of the campaign, such as the colors, fonts, and page design.
In order to maintain a quality mailing list, follow these data management best practices:
Research shows that half of all nonprofit website traffic comes from mobile and tablet users. That means if your annual appeals and donation pages aren’t mobile responsive—easy to read and formatted for those types of screens—you could be missing out on an opportunity to connect with supporters and solicit donations from them.
Given the prevalence of this type of technology, many websites are now, by default, created to be mobile responsive. If yours isn’t, find out what you need to do to update your website and any appeals you send in order to adapt to the way people are engaging with nonprofits.
Your annual appeal letter is one of the most effective pieces of collateral you have to engage your donors in your organization’s efforts to do more good in the world and earn their long-term support. Create a compelling appeal letter, and you should raise more funds and deepen relationships with donors.
If you’re looking for more information on how to optimize your annual appeal letter and implement other important fundraising strategies, check out these resources:
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