Keeping language easy to read is the goal of all copywriters. Instead of using long sentences, big words and ‘corporate speak’, communications should be quick & simple to grasp.

Follow this best practices checklist to ensure that your fundraising letter is the most effective possible. The Five Maples Better Letter Checklist is designed to guide you towards success.

Repetition creates awareness so including a planned giving option on the reply card is a good reminder. Help donors overcome their inertia and take action by finding the right wording.

The reason why 93% of direct mail fundraising appeals are letters is because people give to people. Letters are from a person to a person―or they are when they are personalized.

Response cards can be boring. But, there are two things you can do to help the card work: add attractive color & prime the donor’s brain with an affirmation or a donor benefit word.

The right fundraising envelope design is fundamental. Use a live signature on your appeal envelope to intrigue your donors. These are three examples donors couldn't help but open them!

Here are inspiring samples of fundraising letters that follow the design and copy principles recommended by Five Maples. Both of them outperformed expectations.

How long should a fundraising letter be? Is it true that a donation letter should be no longer than one page? We explain why shorter is not always better when writing to your donors.

Learn how to design and write a donor -centric fundraising letter. These donor-centered appeal letters are designed to deliver every important detail in the first scan-through.

Raise more money for your annual fund solicitation by opting for a nonprofit letter instead of fundraising self-mailers. Here are five reasons why letters tend to perform better.

Data shows that annual fund donors are influenced by round numbers. Here’s how to improve your annual fund results by using the right ask strings for gifts over $100. Read more!

We're willing to bet that if you look at the distribution of your organization’s last annual fund gifts, you’ll find that by far the most common gift amounts are $25, $50, and $100

Anchoring is why nonprofit direct mail fundraising experts advise asking for a specific amount based on each individual’s history of giving and capacity. Anchors have a priming effect.

You might think including a PS in a nonprofit fundraising letter is trite or corny. However, the gurus of direct mail fundraising always include a PS, because they know it delivers.

There are five words you must always include when writing a fundraising letter asking for donations. They help to personalize your donation request letter simply & effectively.

Learn more about how to write a great, personal fundraising letter that connects with your reader's emotions and improve your donor communications and appeals with these mental tricks.

To achieve better results from your annual fund appeal mailings, follow these eight simple steps to ensure you captivate the recipients' attention by ways of wording and design.