- Get your key fundraising messages in place
Concisely sum up the key aims of your charity and if possible, tell your audience why funds are required and where they will be spent. What is the main vision of your charity? What can you achieve with your audience’s support? Bullet points are useful here as they make the information much more digestible.
- Splash emotive imagery onto your envelopes
With a full colour image placed onto the front of your fundraising envelopes, you can really grab your audience’s attention. Typically, the best imagery for this purpose is an emotive photograph, which provides a snapshot of the person in need or a person your charity has successfully helped. A great example of this is a dogs for the blind charity featuring a picture of a happy and smiling blind person with their guide dog.
- Include the full gift aid declaration form
As your charity will be well aware, when your donors submit a gift aid declaration with their donation, an extra 25% on the sum can be reclaimed from HMRC. The back of your fundraising envelope is the perfect place for a gift aid declaration. By collecting all of the relevant data required by HMRC, you can ensure that all of the gifts given by eligible taxpayers are boosted by an extra 25%.
- Use a QR code
There is only so much space on an envelope. A QR (quick-response) code therefore acts as a shortcut to more in depth information on your charity. The user simply scans the code with their smartphone and are then automatically directed to a webpage in their browser. This could be your website’s homepage. Alternatively, you could direct the doner to a landing page that is more relevant to them. For example, if you are a national lifeboat charity and have your fundraising envelopes on display in Blackpool, you could use a code to direct your audience to more statistics on the work your charity does on that particular coastline.
- Quote somebody you have helped
Another powerful way to show potential donors how their money will make a difference is to quote somebody you have already helped. By including the input of a third party in this way you are establishing an extra level of trust with the donor. In addition to this you may also consider quoting statistics, which can also have a big impact. For example, a children’s aid charity which has helped to get 20,000 kids into full time education could state this achievement, along with the number of children they still aim to help. This not only demonstrates that the charity is meeting its goals but also makes it clear that there is still work to be done and more help is needed.
- Sign up donors
As well as physically collecting donations, your fundraising envelopes can also be used to collect new long term supporters. If the donor has had no previous contact with your charity, now is your chance to keep them up to date and engaged with your latest projects, providing them with more opportunities to donate to your cause. A simple email sign up section could be included on the back of your envelope for this purpose, incorporated into your gift aid declaration form to save space. Be sure to tell donors what they have signed up for and to let them know that they can unsubscribe at any time.
- Let donors know how to return the envelope
Sometimes the simplest of things are often forgotten. It’s really important that you let the recipient of your fundraising envelope know how to return their donation to the charity. For security purposes this is essential. Different donors are only comfortable with certain methods of return so it’s important where possible to give them the option of a postal, face to face or an arranged collection of their envelope.
- Thank your supporters
Last but not least, don’t forget the two magic words – thank you. Let your donors know how much you appreciate their gift and how it will make a difference. The best place to put your message of thanks is on the flap of the envelope so that it is the first things the donor sees after slipping cash into the envelope.
Pillarbox is a privately owned company specialising in the manufacture, printing and personalisation of envelopes and packaging. Many of our products are made either from recycled materials, or wood pulp which comes from timber grown in sustainably managed forests.