Fundraising Envelopes Make Or Break Your Campaign

A great mailing system is the key to an effective fundraiser. Whether you’re mailing donation requests or remittance envelopes, printing well-designed fundraising envelopes will make your fundraising a success.

If you’re looking for more information about fundraising envelopes, keep reading! In this article, we’ll explain everything you need to know.

Why Effective Fundraising Envelopes Matter

Did you know that every household receives an average of over 800 pieces of junk mail per year? That’s more than one per day. Such numbers mean that people decide almost instantly whether to open the envelopes they receive in the mail or throw them out.

Notably, when people receive a letter, they frequently decide whether or not to throw it away without even opening it. This is why effective fundraising envelopes are so important: they convince people to open the envelope to learn more about your cause. Simply put, an ineffective envelope means that your letter never gets read. An effective envelope does the opposite: it inspires recipients to open the envelope and see what’s inside.

Most Common Types of Fundraising Envelopes

When you’re printing fundraising envelopes, three types of envelopes are most popular: general envelopes, donation request envelopes, and remittance envelopes. Here is what you need to know about them.

General Fundraising Envelopes

Fundraising can involve a lot of mailing. You might send a pre-fundraiser letter to potential donors, letting them know about your upcoming event. You might be asking for continued support from past donors. No matter the type of message, enclosing it in an effective envelope boosts the chance that recipients will open the letter and read what you have to say.

Donation Request Envelopes

When fundraising and conduction donation drives, encouraging a high opening rate is vital. This means printing envelopes that strike the perfect tone, both ensuring readers know that your envelope contains important information without looking gimmicky.

Remittance Envelopes

Remittance envelopes are used to send donations to your organization. These are printed with your mailing address, so donors only have to write their return address and place a check inside. Remittance envelopes make donating easy, which encourages people to take action if they’re on the fence.

How To Design Fundraising Envelopes That Work

We’ve discussed why sending well-designed envelopes is important. Now let’s get to the fun part: how to design effective envelopes that increase donation rates. Here are ZoePrint’s top tips.

Don’t Use Too Few or Too Many Words

When it comes to fundraising envelopes, it’s important to find a balance between including too much and not enough information. Including a short message on your envelope helps recipients to understand the importance of opening it, but including too much text can look cluttered or sound like you’re pleading.

Therefore, in addition to information such as your mailing address and the recipient’s address, consider including a short message, such as one sentence, but don’t include much more text than that.

Find The Most Effective Size

Envelopes can be a wide range of sizes, so the envelope size that works best for your needs will ultimately depend on what type of mail you’re sending.

For letters about fundraising or requests to donate, the standard #10 envelope size works well. This perfectly fits a tri-folded 8.5x11 piece of paper.

If you're sending a more personal communication, such as a thank you letter for a donation, or a message from your organization’s leadership, printing a card is a good idea. You would therefore want to print an envelope that matches the card size, whether that is A2, A6, or A7.

Use Color To Your Advantage

It can be difficult to stand out in black and white. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to print your envelopes in color so that you can add your logo in color, as well as any other images, illustrations, or noteworthy text. If you make it stand out, people will be more likely to respond.

The more easily recipients can recognize your organization, the more likely they are to donate, so printing your logo and name in color is worth it.

Choose Your Postage

When printing remittance envelopes, you can either print envelopes that include paid postage or indicate that donors should add the postage themselves.

If you choose to use postal indicia, which contains information about a company's postal permit in place of a stamp, you can save money on postage costs. However, your mail must conform to the USPS’s format. Check the USPS website if you have questions or are curious about this option.

Make A Difference With ZoePrint

When organizing your fundraiser, working with the right printer makes a difference. ZoePrint prints fundraising envelopes that make a great impression on your recipients and increase your chances of receiving donations. We print all the materials that your organization needs!

To get started printing your fundraising envelopes, order online or ask us for a custom quote.