In an effort to renew support from lapsed donors, I wrote a letter highlighting a testimonial of the organization's work and an invitation to be join in the work. I also created Easter cards and included them with the letter as a gift to the donor. As Development Director, I was able to secure more than 10% of lapsed donors with this letter appeal.

1. Dear Friend,
It’s been quite a while since we last heard from you. We’re sending you these beautiful Easter greeting
cards in the hope that you’ll recall how good it once felt to help families who need a safe and healthy
home.
Families like Gatluak and Nyabiel’s.
The Sudanese couple inherited three children after Gatluack’s sister passed away; making it nine kids
total to care for!
Seven years ago, the family of eleven moved to the United States, sharing only two bedrooms in a tiny
apartment. The family was already spending more than $800 on housing – more than half the monthly
pay for a full-time minimum wage worker.
For families who have to spend so much of their income on housing, there’s next to nothing left for
other essentials like food and health care, or to save for the future. They become trapped in a vicious
cycle of poverty. Even with two jobs, Gatluack and Nyabiel couldn’t find another apartment the family
could afford to rent.
Families living so close to the edge are especially vulnerable… and perhaps just one illness or accident
away from homelessness. But Habitat for Humanity has a uniquely effective formula that has already
helped more than a dozen Siouxlander’s escape poverty housing.
Please let me briefly explain how we are getting such incredible results.
It all starts with kindhearted friends like you who give families the opportunity to succeed in the stable,
nurturing environment that is safe, decent home of their own – while sharing God’s love in the whole
process.
But please understand. This is not charity. A Habitat house is not a giveaway. What Habitat extends to
families in need is not a handout, but an opportunity.
In addition to qualifying for a no-profit loan that they’ll pay back, every Habitat family is required to
make a modest down payment and to invest several hundred hours of “sweat equity” labor in the
construction of their own house and the houses of other families in need of decent shelter.
So by the time the final nail is pounded, the sawdust is swept up and the paintbrushes are washed, a
Habitat family has already invested quite a lot in their new Habitat house.
It’s not fancy, but it’s theirs.
With housing costs that are affordable for low-income families, Gatluak and Nyabiel no longer have to
choose between putting food on the table and paying the rent. Gatluak’s family is now lifting themselves
out of poverty.

2. How many more families throughout Siouxland and around the world are hoping and praying right now
- for just a spark of hope to boost their spirits? By joining us in partnership today, you can help families
like Gatluak’s celebrate the simple joy of living in a safe, decent and affordable Habitat home!
With a gift of only $20, you can help purchase a 50-pound box of nails to finish a Habitat house.
Or, your gift of $35 could help purchase roofing materials.
And a $50 gift from you can help pay for a kitchen door.
Please help. Renew your support for Habitat’s effort to bring more families – more children – into a
home of their own. It will only take you a minute. And it will make you feel so good. That’s why the
unique greeting cards I’ve enclosed for you are so special. As you use each, I hope it remind you of how
much your generosity means to a new Habitat family like Gatlauk and Nyabiel’s.
Thank you so much for reading this letter. We really miss having you with us and hope to hear from you
again soon. May God bless you.
In Habitat Spirit,
Siouxland Habitat for Humanity
P.S. The Easter greeting cards are yours to keep, with no obligation, as a reminder of the wonderful
changes that are being made in the lives of families in need of safe, decent, healthy places to live.
Please renew your support today.