Sample Report Letter

May 30, 2001 Dear <<Sponsor Name>>, Again this year I did my Birdathon in Delaware along with three friends from Pennsylvania Dave Cutler, Harry Armistead, and Carl Perry and a good birder from Delaware John Janowski. The date was May 17 - by chance precisely the same as last years. While the 17th is slightly past the usual peak of the spring migration, the best migration days this year actually occurred in the week after our outing. I ended up, however, with a good total of 175 species, just one short of last year. You never get all the species scored by everyone in the group and I missed six seen by some of the others. We started in the dead of night and covered a number of marshes in Kent and Sussex counties, picking up five rails and a few sparrows, wrens, and shorebirds in the dark, along with three owls and two goatsuckers. At dawn we were at the Delaware River near the Pea Patch Island heronry to see the morning foraging flight nine species of herons and several other waterbirds terns, gulls, and cormorants. The Nemours Foundation, on the outskirts of Wilmington, one of the few remaining areas in Delawares Piedmont where the big oaks that attract insectivorous birds have not been reduced to lumber, was our next stop, and we did fairly well there, getting among other birds 12 of the days 27 warblers, three mimids, and both orioles. Some of the other 15 warblers along with five thrushes and four vireos we got next at White Clay Creek in New Castle Countys northwest corner. From White Clay we went south again, visiting the coastal marsh areas for shorebirds, ducks, and a Peregrine Falcon and the vicinity of Redden State Forest, where we had the rest of our warblers, several flycatchers, and great views of a Red-headed Woodpecker. At Cape Henlopen we picked up a few new shorebirds, including the endangered Piping Plover. We had run out of the time necessary to get us to Indian River Inlet, where we would surely have added a half dozen salt water species to our list, so turned homeward where I arrived at about ten oclock. Ending A Now the good news youve been waiting for. At $X.XX per species, your sponsorship is worth $XXX.XX. So youre in a position to make a tax-deductible contribution of that amount (or even more if you wish) to the National Audubon Society, who will put your contribution towards making the world a better place for you and your children to live in. All you have to do is make out your check to the Society and send it on to me in the enclosed envelope. If you have a connection to a corporation that matches charitable gifts, the Birdathon will qualify for that too. <<Sponsor>>, thanks for your support. Its truly appreciated; Im grateful for your sponsorship. Sincerely, Ending B <<Sponsor>>, in response to my earlier letter you pledged $XX.XX for my Birdathon. So youre in a position to make a tax deductible contribution of that amount (or even greater if you wish) to the

National Audubon Society. They, in turn, will put your contribution towards making the world a better place for you and your children to live in. All you have to do is make out your check to the Society and send it on to me in the enclosed envelope. If you have a connection to a corporation that matches charitable gifts, the Birdathon will qualify for that too. <<Sponsor>>, thanks for your support. Its truly appreciated; Im grateful for your sponsorship. Sincerely,

Ending C Well, <<Sponsor>>, in response to my earlier letter on the Birdathon youve already made a taxdeductible contribution of $XXX.XX to the National Audubon Society. They, in turn, have put that contribution towards making the world a better place for you and your children to live in. Audubon and I want to thank you for that support. Its much appreciated. Sincerely,

Ending D <<Sponsor>>, I realize you didnt grab the opportunity when I wrote my first letter this year on the Birdathon, but Ive heard from several people that they never received that first letter, so perhaps you also never got it. Either way, I thought it was only fair to give you another chance. So heres the result, and its still not too late to participate. All you need to do is make out your check to the National Audubon Society and send it on to me in the enclosed envelope. Your tax deductible contribution will go towards making the world a better place for you and your children to live in. And if you have a connection to a corporation that matches charitable gifts, the Birdathon will qualify for that too. Thanks for your consideration. Sincerely,