donation request letter template

Writing an Effective Donation Letter Writing an Effective Donation Letter Use the following tips and template as a guide when requesting donations for PTA Membership Month events or other events throughout the year. Businesses receive many requests for donations, so don’t expect every request to receive a positive response. In addition, large retailers may require more time to review a request than smaller, local businesses do. In any case, donation letters should be sent at least a month prior to the event. This allows you to follow up two weeks after you make the initial request; contact the businesses to see if they have received the letter and considered your request. Here are the key questions your donation letter should answer: Who is asking for the donation? Include the PTA name, the school(s) or community served, and the number of parents and students served. G What can the donor gain from donating to your PTA? The donor may receive free advertising through the publication of the list of donors, recognition in the community through signage at the event, and/or a tax deduction. In addition, donations made to local groups, clubs, or projects are good for public relations and business. G The donation letter should also contain some basic information and formalities: State the method you’ll use to pick up the donation, or to whom the donation should be delivered. G Provide the name, phone number, and e-mail address of a contact person from your PTA. G Thank the business in advance for considering donating to your PTA. G Have the contact person or a key PTA leader (e.g., the president, the president-elect, a board member) sign the letter. G What are you asking for? Be specific: Say “youth baseball caps” rather than “clothing,” “cookies and cupcakes for 50 people” rather than “baked goods.” G G Why are you asking for this donation? For instance, the plan may be to use donated items as door prizes to attract participants to an event, or as prizes to be awarded to those who recruited the most new members during PTA Membership Month. Donated baked goods may be sold at a bake sale or offered as free refreshments. Or you may be asking for monetary donations to fund a specific aspect of a PTA Membership Month event. After the event, remember to send thank-you letters to the donors. Include photos of the event. Handwritten letters from a school class that benefited from the donation can be very effective in securing future donations. Also consider thanking businesses that didn’t donate this time. Let them know how the event went, and tell them that you understand that they get a lot of requests and that you hope you might be able to speak with them about future opportunities. Who will the donation benefit? Explain how the donation and/or event will benefit parents at your school, for example. G The letter template on the following page is not a typeable PDF due to the differences in donation requests. Please cut and paste the letter into a new document to use. Writing an Effective Donation Letter Donatio n Cut and Letter Templa te paste to custom : ize , Dear : September is PTA Membership Month, and is planning to recruit members at . We will be hosting a on , and we hope we can count on , as a caring member of our community, for a donation of . Your donation will be used for the sole purpose of benefiting the students and parents of our community. Our goal is to provide an exciting event where the school community can get together and where parents can learn how PTA membership benefits their children. If you have any questions, please contact at or . Thank you in advance for your consideration and support. Regards,