Sponsorship Letters

Dear Riding4Reform participant!

On the following pages, you will find model letters intended for use in soliciting sponsorships. Please read the following comments before you start to write your own letters:

  1. We don't know the people you are writing to—you do! You should certainly edit and adapt our suggested text to make it as effective as possible for each individual recipient. The way you write to your doting aunt (and the amount of money you ask for) will obviously be very different from the way you write to college friends, colleagues, or members of your synagogue or temple.
    2. Pictures from the Annual Bike Ride
  2. The information and tone about Israel and about the Reform Movement should be adjusted to meet the recipient's familiarity with these areas.
    Pictures from the Annual Bike Ride
  3. The Web site you are in - www.riding4reform.org contains lots of additional information you can include in your letter. If you are writing to someone who's likely to use the Internet, you can include the link in the letter so they can find out more about the ride for themselves. 
    4. Pictures from the Annual Bike Ride

    “The connections to the Land, the connections to the other riders, and the connections to the IMPJ will now last a lifetime.” (Rabbi Jerry Weider)

  4. Who can I ask? You probably know more people than you might imagine! Don't forget to think about:
    • Close family members and more distant relatives (don't be embarrassed to write to that cousin you haven't been in touch with for several years -he will almost certainly be delighted.)
    • College friends (again, add a short update on your personal news if you haven't written to them for a while).
    • Work and professional contacts.
    • Members of your temple/synagogue.
    • Your rabbi probably has a discretionary fund that he/she can use to support you and the bike ride.
    • Members of social clubs, sporting organizations, etc. in which you are involved.
       
    Pictures from the Annual Bike Ride

  5. Follow-up is extremely important. Try to telephone each recipient about three weeks after sending the letter, if you haven't heard from them.

Sample letter 1; Sample letter 2

Thank you for your hard work and good luck.