I don't think there is a standard fund raising letter. When you are looking for the big dollars (more than just $50 or $100), you need to work the donors personally. I am also President elect of our local Community Foundation so I see both sides of fundraising.

Big donors (personal, corporate or foundations) need to know your organization and what you do. You need a track record. The philanthropy world has fallen on hard times over the past few years. With the stock market drop and a great increase in the need for funding for schools and other existing social programs, it is very hard for donors to move into new areas.

I know foundations which have stopped making grants from "under water" endowments (those whose principal is less than the original gift as a result of investment losses). Lets put this aside for now and look at how to get some money out of the donors.

Every donor, whether an individual a coproration or a foundation, has an area they want to help. If a donor targets "at risk youth", you have to approach them with a proposal that will help in this area. Maybe you pick a play with roles for young people and target "at risk youth" for these roles. Each donor is different and need to be approached differently. It is your job to find out just what the donors you target are interested in.

When we need the big bucks for our group, we prepare a one page summary of the project including why we are doing it/need it and what it will cost and where the money is to come from. What will you do with the funds you do raise if you do not come up with enough for your project?

We then send that summary to a selected list of donors who are interested in the project area along with a personalized hand written letter asking for the donors help. We usually try to find someone on our board who knows the donor personally to write the letter. It is hard work and takes a long time but it does bring in the money. If you go after the grant process, remember that many granting organizations have a schedule for grants and will likely take months before you find out if you have been successful.

The "shotgun" approach (send a form letter to everyone you can think of) is good only for getting names for the future. In my experience, you will barely get enough in donations to cover the mailing costs. You will get some small donations and these are donors you want to get to know for the future.

Good luck.