past giving patterns is incredibly important since you need to be able to recommend appropriate gift amounts. For instance, if someone usually donates $20, you might want to suggest $20, $50 and $100 and if someone usually donates $100, you might want to suggest $100, $200 and $500. Do not offer gifts -- offering items like t-shirts, mugs, and personal mailing labels as gifts for donating is a bad idea and has an overwhelmingly negative impact on people's decision to give. (See " Research Shows New Dos and Don'ts of Fundraising ") Get More Brilliantly Crafted Fundraising Letters Sumac has a whole library of great templates just like this that you can customize for your organization!