The number one fundraising tool that you have access to: Fundraising Letter. If you choose to send letters, please drop them by the LLS office, and we will cover the postage!
These days, getting a letter in the mail that isn’t junk/bill is very rare. When a donor recieves a letter, it has a much greater success rate in receiving a donation. Why? It’s personal. It’s direct. It’s tangible.
But what does on write in their fundraising letter? That’s a GREAT question! To help guide you in writing your letter, here’s an example:
Dear _____________ (name):
On ___________ (date), I’m participating in a ___________________ (type of event) in ____________________ (city). This will be my ____________________ (what number endurance event), and I’m participating in honor of _________________________ (honored hero). ______________________ (name) is a ___________(what was your honoree was diagnosed with) survivor.
(Now include specific information about your honored hero).
It is estimated that every four minutes, someone is diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease or myeloma, which is approximately 138,530 new cases in 2009. An estimated 894,543 Americans are living with leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. The hope is that with accelerated funding for research, all blood cancers will be curable by the next century. Leukemia is the number-one disease killer of children, yet it affects nine times as many adults. The cause remains unknown.
So, why am I doing this? Here are three reasons:
- I want to run for my honored heroes and friends.
- I want to raise money for blood cancer research.
- I look good in pain, soaked in sweat…actually, it’s good for me!
In order to help find a cure, and to help provide patients with much-needed financial aid, I’m going to spend the next few months working to raise at least $________ (fundraising goal), and I would be so honored if you would join me in this effort by making a donation of $25, $50, $75 or whatever you can afford. I realize that we’re living in some uncertain economic times, but please keep in mind that blood cancer patients are especially affected by the changing economy and need help and hope now more than ever before.
Checks should be made out to The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and sent to me by ____________ (due date) at ______________ (your home address). Or, you can visit my Web page at _______________ (Web site URL) to donate by credit card. Please consider making your donation by (one month from when you send the letter) if possible, so I can track my fundraising progress. Of course, your donation is 100 % tax-deductible. With the support of generous people like you, we can help The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society continue to make strides in fulfilling its mission: a cure.
Thank you in advance for your support,
(your name here)
What do you do with the checks (donations) that are mailed to you?
The MyLLS App will enable you to upload your checks directly to your fundraising page (much like adding funds to your personal banking account). This app also enables you to take credit card donations from donors on the spot, as well as send thank you notes for their generous donation. Curious where you’re at funds wise to your goal? You can check this app at any time to see how much you’ve raised to date!
If you have any questions, please let staff know! We would love to assist you in any way that we can.
The following like will enable you to download the Tax ID letter, fundraising planner, sample fundraising letter and more: https://llsdata.box.com/TeaminTraining
Central Ohio Chapter Team in Training Blog 