For most people, raising support for their first mission is something they agonize over because they’ve never done it before. For the rest of us, its something we agonize over because we have done it before. It takes discipline to buckle-down and write the text of your support letter, but the next steps you take are pretty important in determining what kind of response you will get.
Here are 6 proven tips to help increase donor repossess from your support raising letter.
- Keep your support letter limited to one piece of paper, preferably the front side only, and use at least 11-point font and 1.25 line spacing. It is more inviting and easier to read un-crowded text.
- Make sure your letter includes pictures. At a minimum, one of you, and one related to where you are going. Include captions with the pictures that clearly say that you are going on a mission trip. Probably less than half of your recipients will read your whole letter, but almost all of them will read the captions.
- Underline the parts of your letter that say “you are going on a mission trip to (location),” and “I need to raise ($ amount) by (date). This will draw your reader’s attention to the main points.
- Using colored ink (blue), write a personal note at the top or bottom of each support letter. Just a short and personal one or two sentence note is plenty. Also, be sure to personally sign your name at the bottom of each newsletter.
- Send each newsletter in a hand-addressed envelope. No one ever discards a hand-addressed envelope; it will be opened. If you print your envelopes or labels on a printer, it will not seem personal and may not ever be opened. The more personalized you can present your letter, the more likely the reader is to respond.
- Include with your letter a response card (sample response card) and a pre-addressed return security envelope. Pre-stamping the return envelope may seem presumptuous or extravagant, but it will definitely increase your response rate.
Most importantly, pray that God would move upon the hearts of those who read your letter, and that He would provide all you need to serve him.
