AFP Conference Roundup: Best Practices for Annual-Giving Campaigns

Focus your text on what donors know, e.g., "As a volunteer for the past decade, you know … " And make sure they know the signer of the letter.

Pranger said to be sure your letter is readable by YOUR audience. To test your copy, read it out loud and fix places where you get tripped up. If you're having trouble writing, write as though you're telling a story in a letter to a friend. Whether your letter is long or short depends on what your donors or prospects are looking for. Most people don't want to read long letters, but you need to tell them enough to get them excited about your cause, Pranger said.