Guides › Charities & Community
Write an appeal letter that tells one clear story
Turn a real story from your work into a mailing or email appeal with a clear need, a simple ask and a reply route, in letter and email versions.
When to use it
When planning an annual, seasonal or emergency appeal
Step by step
Choose one story and one need
Pick a single person's or community's story (with their consent) and the one thing a gift will do. One story works better than five facts.
Draft the appeal
Paste the details into your AI assistant with this prompt.
Prompt to copyWrite a fundraising appeal for [charity] for our [appeal name] going to [existing supporters / lapsed supporters / new audience]. The story (shared with consent, names changed): [paste]. The need: [what's needed and why now]. What gifts do: [e.g. £10 provides..., only if true]. Write: 1. A letter under 450 words with a strong opening line, the story, the need, a clear ask, a P.S. that repeats the ask. 2. An email version under 200 words with 3 subject line options. 3. A short social post. Tone: honest, warm, hopeful, no guilt-tripping. Use only the facts I've given.Check the facts and permissions
Confirm every figure with your finance or programmes team, and check the person in the story is happy with how they're described.
Send it the usual way
Lay out the letter for print, and paste the email into Mailchimp or your usual email tool to send to supporters who've agreed to hear from you.
What you get
Opening: When Maya first came to our drop-in, she hadn't spoken to anyone in four days. Ask: Will you give £20 today to keep the drop-in open on Sundays this winter? P.S. Every gift before 15 December keeps the doors open one more Sunday.
Tips
- Only send appeals to people who've agreed to receive them, in line with fundraising and data protection rules.
- Ask the AI to rewrite the opening line five ways and test two of them by email.