Fund raising Samples

Impact Writing

When Results Matter

The streets of Sonsonate are strewn with flowers and colored sawdust awaiting the procession of barefoot Salvadorans following the man carrying the cross. It’s Holy Week here in El Salvador and this Catholic country celebrates the resurrection of Christ with great anticipation.

Dear Friend,

I wish you could be here with me to see the faces of these children who have so little in the material world but have so much faith that their hearts are filled with joy. The homes that many of them live in are merely shacks that have partial roofs and one or two rooms for their whole family. The stench of raw sewage permeates the air and in the heat of the day is overwhelming. Those children who attend school rarely go beyond 6^th grade. There are few schools out in the villages and those that exist are poorly equipped. Rarely are there sufficient books, paper, or pencils. These children will grow up without the joy of either an art or music curriculum. The very basics are all they can hope to have.

We are a group of people from a variety of walks of life; we are Christian volunteers and come from all over the United States. What we have in common is that we all fell in love with the Salvadoran people—and our hearts have gone out to the children. We are teachers, nurses, a minister, retirees, business owners, and we return as often as we can. And we bring others with us. We have formed a non-profit organization (501 © 3) in order to try and bring some hope into the lives of these children. Without an education their future is limited. They are likely to be working in fields. The infrastructure of the country is lacking or doesn’t exist. The opportunity to learn a trade just a dream.

I’m writing to you as the spokesperson of all these volunteers. We’re willing to provide the labor to rebuild schools but what we need is financial assistance. $25 will provide one child with all the books that they will need for their school year. $10 will provide 5 children with a nutritious lunch for a week. $5 will allow us to purchase paper, pens, pencils, rulers. Your gift is tax deductible. Won’t you do what you can? Your financial gift allows us to give the best gift of all, hope.

(EXCERPT FROM APPEAL LETTER--ACTUAL LETTER HAS PHOTOS)

Dear Mrs. Smith,

   Recently you made a very significant gift to OUR FATHER’S HOUSE. We want you to know we haven’t forgotten your generosity. Mrs. (Smith) I want to share with you how we have used that gift…and to tell you about an urgent new need we have for Homeless Population.

   With the aid of your gift we were able to increase the number of homeless we served this year by 15% over the previous year. Besides providing a clean, warm and safe environment to sleep we also were able to provide a nutritious breakfast to each guest every morning. Each gentleman also received new socks, gloves and hats which may have saved lives when the temperatures dipped below zero last winter.

     I’ve enclosed a separate note from one of our guests, a gentleman named Joe. He proudly served our country by serving in Viet Nam but returned both an alcoholic and drug addict. Joe drifted from location to location and lost count of how many times he was mugged or kicked. With the help of your gift we were able to send Joe to a Rehab program for six months. He is a different man. Sober, he is now enrolled in an educational program called ‘Return to Work’ sponsored by the state. Joe is training to be a mechanic and has a guaranteed job waiting for him at his completion. Initially, Joe will continue to live with us until he’s financially stable.   Without your help, Joe would still be drifting—somewhere, out on the streets, an addict….and without hope.

     But now we’re faced with a new crisis. The ‘good news’ I shared with you is that we increased the numbers of homeless we serviced by 15%. It was certainly a wonderful feeling to realize we had been so effective in providing shelter to more in need, but OUR FATHER’S HOUSE is licensed to sleep 28.   The 15% increase jeopardizes our license. The Fire Marshal has indicated that we have exceeded our maximum capacity and will need to reject others in need. Rejecting someone who is cold and hungry is not something we can do. Our only option is to purchase another home—hopefully in the South End—to meet the growing needs of our community.

     It’s now early spring. Our goal is to have our new home, to expand our services, by Fall. That will give us time to do some refurbishing before the chill of winter forces our homeless friends to seek warmth over a subway grate. We are writing grants, and hoping for help from our Corporate Friends. But in order to make this happen, we need help from all our friends. We know you’ll do what you can to assist us.

     There are many more ‘Joe’s’ out in our community. They are trying to keep warm, hoping for a meal, a place for a shower, praying they’re not victimized that night. We need your help.    We recognize you as a compassionate person with a generous heart. So we ask, can you once again find it in your heart to help those who society has rejected? Our goal is to raise 1 million dollars for the home, refurbishing, furniture, and a fund for meals.

     (EXCERPT FROM A FUNDRAISING LETTER)

Dear (Corporation),

We know that you have been a champion for Juvenile Diabetes in the past. As a result of your company’s generosity last year we were able to send 23 young people with diabetes to Camp Cedar Wood for one week each. It is the one week out of the year that most of these children feel they ‘belong.’ All of the children need to do daily blood testing, all follow strict diets, and all are subjected to daily injections of insulin. For many of the children, it is the first time that they get to feel like children.

I’ve taken the liberty of enclosing a group picture of those children who (Corporation) sent to camp this summer. As you can see they are very happy. And they look like typical kids enjoying a day at camp.

Last summer we were posed with a new problem. Camp Cedar Wood has become so popular with children with diabetes that we didn’t have enough space to accommodate all our applicants. We hope never to have that happen again.

This fall we’d like to begin adding 5 new cabins—each cabin will hold 4 campers—to our campgrounds. That would allow us to provide 20 additional children each week a camp experience in 2005. With the additional campers we will also need to hire an additional full time nurse. Because of your previous concern for these special children I wanted you to know of our future goals. Your continued generosity could make this a reality for us—and for those children who will benefit from being ‘like everyone else’ for a week of their lives.

The total cost for the 5 new cabins is $50,000. Remember, these cabins will provide a week at camp for 20 new campers EACH WEEK!Camp Cedar Wood has 8 weeks of camp allowing 160 children to enjoy a special week enjoying nature and friendships with children just like themselves!

That’s why I’m writing to you Mr. Sanders. You have generously supported our work in the past and I am confident that when you realize that many children did not get to share in a camping experience that you will do what you can to help us reach the dreams of many children.

Without good friends like you Mr. Sanders, along with your dedicated employees, we wouldn’t be so successful. Your generous support is a source of encouragement to all of us who work with these very special children.

(Excerpt from Corporate Fundraising letter)