Write your year-end appeal letter
Describe your mission and fundraising goal. Get a complete 3-page appeal letter with matching gift challenge.
Write your year-end appeal letter
River's Year-End Appeal Letter Writer creates complete fundraising letters for your December giving campaign. You provide your mission, fundraising goal, and what donations will support. The AI generates a compelling 3-page appeal letter including an urgent opening, impact story, specific ask, matching gift challenge (if applicable), donor recognition, and strong call to action. You get a professional fundraising letter ready to send to your donor list.
Unlike generic appeal templates, this tool writes emotionally compelling letters that move donors to give. The AI uses proven fundraising copywriting techniques including specificity about impact, urgency around year-end giving, clear asks for support, emotional storytelling, and donor-centered language focusing on what they enable rather than what you need. Strong appeal letters make donors feel like heroes whose generosity creates meaningful change. You get letters designed to inspire action.
This tool is perfect for fundraising directors, development staff, and executive directors preparing year-end campaigns. Use it when launching December appeals, creating emergency fundraising letters, or writing donor solicitations. It works best when you provide a clear goal, specific examples of impact, and concrete details about how funds will be used. Year-end giving represents 30-50% of annual donations for most nonprofits. Compelling appeal letters significantly impact your annual fundraising success.
What Makes Fundraising Appeals Work
Effective fundraising appeals make donors feel urgency, connection, and impact. Urgency comes from deadlines (December 31st tax deadline), matching gifts that double impact, or pressing needs that cannot wait. Connection comes from stories about real people whose lives donors touch through their gifts. Impact comes from showing specific, tangible results: $50 feeds a family for a week, $500 sends a child to camp, $5,000 trains ten volunteers. Weak appeals focus on organizational needs. Strong appeals focus on the change donors create by giving.
Winning appeals include a clear, specific ask. Do not make donors guess what you want. 'Please consider a gift of $100, $250, or $500' performs better than 'please give generously.' Segment asks by donor history: ask previous $100 donors for $150, previous $500 donors for $750. Include giving options: online link, check, phone number, monthly giving option. Make giving as easy as possible. Remove friction from the donation process. The easier you make it to give, the more donors will follow through.
To write compelling appeals, lead with your strongest story or most urgent need. Capture attention immediately. Use 'you' and 'your' language, not 'we' and 'our.' Show donors what their specific gift accomplishes. Include social proof: 'Join 500 families who already gave.' Create scarcity or deadline: 'We need 100 more donors by December 31.' Use matching gifts to double urgency and impact: 'Your $100 gift becomes $200.' End with clear next steps and make the ask again in the P.S. (which many people read first). Test different stories, subject lines, and ask amounts to learn what resonates with your donors.
What You Get
Complete 3-page year-end appeal letter
Urgent, compelling opening that captures attention
Impact story showing your organization's work
Specific fundraising ask with giving levels
Matching gift challenge language (if applicable)
Donor recognition and gratitude
Strong call to action with multiple giving options
P.S. reinforcing key message and urgency
How It Works
- 1Enter campaign detailsProvide organization, goal, what funds support, impact story, and matching gift info
- 2AI writes appealGet complete 3-page fundraising letter with compelling narrative in 3-5 minutes
- 3Personalize and segmentAdjust ask amounts for different donor segments and add personal touches
- 4Mail or email to donorsSend to your donor list via mail or email before year-end
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I mail this letter or send it as an email?
Both. Mail performs better for major donors and older donors. Email reaches more people at lower cost and works well for mid-level and younger donors. Many organizations send both: mail to donors above $250 lifetime giving, email to everyone else. For mail, add personal salutations and signatures. For email, use subject lines focused on urgency or impact, keep formatting simple for mobile reading, and include a prominent donation button above the fold. Test both channels to learn what works for your donor base.
What ask amounts should I include?
Segment by donor history. Ask prior donors to give 25-50% more than their last gift. For new prospects, provide a range like $50/$100/$250/$500/other. Higher ask amounts anchor donors to give more. Lead with mid-range amount, not lowest. Include monthly giving as an option: '$25 per month provides...' Monthly donors have much higher lifetime value than one-time donors. Make specific asks easier to say yes to than vague 'please give generously' requests.
How do matching gifts actually work in appeals?
Secure a matching donor first who commits to match all gifts up to a certain amount. Then tell all donors 'A generous supporter will match your gift dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000, doubling your impact!' Matching gifts create urgency (limited availability), increase impact perception (gift is worth twice as much), and provide social proof (another donor believes in this cause enough to match). They consistently improve response rates and average gift size. Always include a deadline for matching gift eligibility.
Can I use the same letter for all donors?
Use the same core story and message, but personalize salutations, adjust ask amounts by donor history, add handwritten notes for major donors, and segment slightly for different audiences (board members get different version than lapsed donors). Personalization increases response rates. At minimum, use donor's name and reference their past support if they are previous donors. The more personalized the appeal feels, the more likely donors respond.
When should I send year-end appeals?
Most organizations send multiple touches: first appeal in early November, reminder in mid-December, urgent final reminder December 26-30. Email can go out multiple times. Mail once or twice. The last week of December generates huge giving volume as donors rush to meet tax deadline. Send urgent reminders December 29-31. Many organizations raise 10-15% of their annual budget in the final week of the year. Do not miss this critical window.
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