Fundraising Letter

Description

Assignment Overview You are an administrative assistant at a not-for-profit organization. You are tasked with writing a one-page fundraising letter to be sent out to potential corporate donors. Search for an actual not-for-profit organization to represent. Your letter must include the following things: succinctly present one specific problem your organization is trying to solve for example: Lack of support for a homeless shelter during the pandemic Trafficking of children Lack of support for students with disabilities in Lethbridge high schools name one solution for which your organization is raising money for example: Purchasing winter clothing using the raised money Hosting online seminars with paid guest speakers to raise awareness Vouchers for specialized, online tutors  ask for a specific donation to help solve that problem for example: A $100 donation to pay for a certain number of winter jackets Donations that will be matched by another benevolent donor or the government invite the potential donor to an online meeting or conversation to get more information Letter Structure Salutation: name of specific company representative (Dear Mr. Bradley:) Introduction: 1 paragraph Gets right to the point Persuasively states the problem and solution, and makes an appeal for help or support “According to StatsCan, more than 25% of those trafficked for sex in Canada in 2016 were children. However, there is hope: Alberta has the Protection of Sexually Exploited Children Act (PSECA), the only legislation of its kind in Canada. These children and other potential victims can be saved by making parents, police, and other community members aware of PSECA and the strategies that traffickers use to lure and groom unsuspecting children. Help us spread awareness about this horrible reality by donating what you can.” Note the visual persuasion used in the previous paragraph, as well as ethos (PSECA), pathos (children), and logos (statistic). Make sure you use all of these forms of persuasion. Body: 1 paragraph Requests specific donation for specific purpose Closing: 1 paragraph Call to action: briefly offers a follow-up meeting or conversation to provide further information (since a corporate donor is unlikely to want to sign off on a donation without understanding how it will benefit their business). Thanks them in advance for their contribution/generosity.   Assignment Format Use block style Include addresses for both sender and recipient. Single-spaced with a blank line between paragraphs and left justified. Avoiding Plagiarism You should use specific information from your organization’s website. However, you must follow these guidelines: Put quotation marks around any language, whether it is a phrase or sentence, taken from your organization’s website–or originally composed by anyone besides yourself. At least 80% of the language in your letter must be your own, original composition. This should not be too difficult, since there is no need to include more than a few sentences about your organization in the letter. Provide an informal bibliography with any resources you used. Format does not matter, as long as you provide the website’s name and the URL of the webpage your information came from. For most of you, the only necessary resource will be your non-profit organization’s website. You are welcome to make up any details that you can’t find on the organization’s website.