Let's talk a little about making an email request for donations.
Whether you are a student tapping into your family's holiday card list or an adult sending out emails to friends, business associates, clients, acquaintences, etc. - emailing a request for donations to the American Cancer Society is a simple and effective way to raise money quickly.
There are a few steps in this process.
1. Write a letter / email request. Spend some time with this. It's important to share the Reason You Relay in your note. Consider putting in a picture to personalize your request a bit further. Your note does not need to be a masterpiece, it should simply reflect the personal nature of your involvement with Relay For Life.
For some of us, finding the right words to ask for money is tough. That's where we can lean on some of the online tools. Pick one of the templates under the email tab as a starting point. Let's look at the "Help Me Reach $100" template.
We've got a great start with a letter here. What's missing is some personal pizazz.
As an example of how just a few tweaks can personalize the note, here's a sample from my drafted letter:
You might also think about offering to put a luminaria on the track for each donation of $10 or more right in your request letter (some people put this in their thank you letters to donors). It's really up to you and what you feel comfortable with.
Make sure the information about how to donate online is included in your updated letter. This should appear automatically at the bottom of your letter, but you should double check via the preview button to see that the link is being included. Some people like to include written instructions on how to find their donation page, just in case there are technical issues for the user trying to click on the link. I think this really depends on what you think the comfort level of your potential donors is with email technology.
2.) Pull your email list together. Put together as comprehensive a list as you can. Family. Friends. Classmates. Neighbors. Insurance Agents. Vendors. Church friends. Members of your garden club. Your baseball team. Leave no stone unturned. Try not to pre-judge whether someone will give or not, whether they can afford to donate or not. Just ask. Any amount will help. Remember that you are creating an opportunity for people to fight back.
There are tools to import email addresses from files, other online address books you use (gmail, yahoo, etc.) or you can make use of your address book from previous years if you're a returning Relayer. Use the tools and save yourself a lot of time!
3.) Select the names/addresses for your donors in the online tool & send the emails out.
4.) Wait for the donations to come pouring in.
5.) Take a few minutes to send out a thank-you email after you receive donations. If you didn't put a note about luminarias in your request email, think about making the offer to put a luminaria out for each $10 donation in honor/memory of someone of the donor's choosing.
The good news with the thank-you emails is that there's a template that you can use - either as-is, or as a starting point - and the email addresses are already in the address book from step 3.
Note: our Luminaria Chairperson and/or other members of the Planning Committee will be happy to help you get your luminarias made if you find yourself with more than you can handle. Trust me, if you are getting swamped with donations, this is a 'problem' we would be happy to help you take care of at Relay!
Our top individual fundraisers for Relay For Life consistently report that they raise the bulk of their donations through letters and emails. It makes sense. We can connect with many individuals in a very short period of time. Our online donation center makes it very easy for people to give to the American Cancer Society.
With Relay For Life only 48 days away, this weekend would be a great time to send out letters!
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