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It pays to invest to get new donors.

It pays to invest in building a relationship.

The stakes are clear. Nonprofit organizations depend increasingly on private support for their survival, and direct mail is a crucial source of funds for charitable institutions.

1. Say thanks, then please

Donors are believers, and believers give. You can go to them on a regular schedule or in emergencies. Write to them regularly, and keep them informed about the organization and its activities. Make them members, not just givers. Send membership certificates and pins. Then, when it comes time to renew their support, they need only an inexpensive reminder to prompt their generosity and loyalty.

Here too, free gifts, even token ones, add to the effectiveness of your mailing.

Write to say thanks. Thanks, and won’t you give again?

A successful fund-raising letter from the general director of the Lyric Opera of Chicago began by thanking donors for all they had done for the company the previous year. The first paragraph ended, “I just wanted to be sure to say ‘Thanks’ before I say ‘Please.’”

2. Tell the prospect how much money you want

The reader does not know how much money you expect. Suggesting the size of the contribution is up to you.

Upward Inc., an after-school program in New York, made this successful appeal:

Here’s a holiday gift idea — how about giving a computer to a kid in Harlem (for about $800)? Upward Inc. needs a few people like you to rebuild its computer center in order to put inner city children on their life path “upward.”

At the same time, you don’t want to discourage smaller gifts. The Upward Inc. letter went on to suggest at least contributing something toward the price of a computer monitor at $300.

It can be effective to tell readers what different services cost, so they can select a giving level. Another letter from Lyric Opera gives this approach a stylish twist in a note to Santa Claus:

Dear Santa:

It would be lovely if you could leave an $8 million check in my stocking this year — but I know that’s a bit much to ask. So let me list some of the things we really do need, that maybe you can help us with.

Children’s Backstage Tour ($7,500)

Senior Citizens’ Matinee ($15,000)

Airfare to bring artists from New York ($325 each)

Ballet shoes ($75 each)

Wigs and make-up for the chorus of Mefistofele ($5,500)

Leaves to redecorate the tree in Elixir of Love ($550)

Rental of keyboard for sound effects ($3,607)

Youth Education programs ($15,000)

If I listed everything Lyric needs, or needs money to fund, this letter would go on for pages — so I’ve selected only a few items that are especially on my mind as the holidays approach.

3. Put your appeal in personal terms

People would rather give to other people than to faceless institutions. Alan Reich founded and runs the National Organization on Disability from his wheelchair. He writes to a friend:

The last time we were together, we spoke about a project of great importance to people with disabilities. It is the addition of a statue of President Roosevelt in his wheelchair at the FDR Memorial. Congress passed legislation mandating that the statue be added. It also requires that the $1.65 million be raised in the private sector, and N.O.D. has taken on this challenge.

I am writing to request your help, because I regard you and FDR as kindred spirits, at least in triumphing over disability.

Your letter should tell readers what’s going on, the work your institution is doing, and why it is important. Tell them about the things you can’t do — unless they give. Don’t let them assume the drive will be successful whether or not they give. This adds urgency to your appeal.

Unless we hear from you right away, we may be forced to close down two Morgan Memorial buildings.

Westminster Abbey is falling down. If this doesn’t move you, read no further.

Don’t forget to tell people how little you spend on administration. Assure them that you mean it when you say no contribution is too small, even a dollar.

Nobody likes a