Campaign Corner: How to write effective fundraising letters

The Campaign Corner series looks to give three tips about commonly asked campaign issues. Do get in touch  if you have any questions you would like to suggest.

Today’s Campaign Corner question: I know I need to ask members and supporters for money to help fund our local campaigning, but I hate writing fundraising letters. What should I say?

1. The basic formula is thank, warn, inspire: in other words, thank people for their past support, warn them of what can go wrong if there is not enough money for the campaign (e.g. if another party can get through a controversial policy unopposed) and offer hope for what their donation will bring (e.g. saving the local park from that controversial planning application).
2. Ask for specific sums for specific projects: the more specific the request, the more likely people will be to respond – because they get a sense of what their money will do rather than fear that it will simply disappear into a bottomless pit of political financial requests.
3. Don’t just ask members for money: if you are doing good local campaigning, there are many people who appreciate what you do – and only a small proportion of them are party members. So make sure you include other groups of people such as non-member deliverers, regular poster sites and so on. Keep track of who does or doesn’t respond to appeals so you can refine your list over time.

Want to know more about local campaigning? Campaigning In Your Community by myself and Shaun Roberts should be right up your street. It’s available for only £4 from ALDC and you can read an extract for free here.

Previous Campaign Corners have included:

• Should you still target during a PR election?
• What to do on the doorstep
• How to make Focus leaflets looks better

You can read them all here.