Free resources for creating an appeal during COVID-19

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The world feels like a scary place right now. But as this scary place becomes our new normal, it’s important to remember that donors are among your greatest allies. Your donors care about you and they care about the people you serve. One of the most important things you can do is reach out to donors, update them on what’s going on with your organization and give them an opportunity to help.

 Your messaging needs to be on brand, and heartfelt, but it doesn’t need to be perfect. Yes, we said that, and we’ll say it again—it doesn’t need to be perfect. Spelling-mistake free, of course, but not perfect. If your average appeal is a glossily designed, long-time-to-produce product, scrap that in favour of a spontaneous message from the heart. 

In the coming weeks and months, many of the non-profit organizations we work with, and beyond, will want to kick-start an emergency appeal campaign related to the pandemic. As such, we thought it would be helpful to provide a couple of template letters that you can download, customize and send out to your donors and supporters.

They’re simple, well-structured letters created primarily for organizations that don’t have access to a dedicated fundraising and/or marketing team. We created them because often the hardest part of writing compelling appeal letters is just getting those first few sentences down on paper. So, we did the hard work for you. The templates can be used for either direct mail appeals or email appeals.

 One of the things we do best is write compelling content that connects your donors to your mission—content that compels them to act. We tell stories, we pull on heartstrings, and we share the important details of your fundraising need to help you raise more money. When you want to create a customized appeal letter that tells your story, please reach out. But until then, please use these templates for your emergency appeal campaign. Drop your organization’s details in, customize it to meet your situation and adapt it as much as you’d like. Use this letter almost as is, or use it as a starting point. If you’d like us to review your adapted copy before sending it to donors, please email us at letschat@luminatecommunications.com.

Stay well, my friends.

Appeal letter for health care organizations

Appeal letter for arts organizations

Appeal letter for social services organizations on the front lines