Kelly Stettner, founder and director of the Black River Action Team in Springfield, Vt., was inspired by the recent exchange Prospecting sponsored to help a charity official draft his first fund-raising letter.

Ms. Stettner, who works as a secretary by day, runs the nine-year-old environmental advocacy group in her spare time and says she is drafting an appeal in the hope that it “will encourage more business owners to donate and to think creatively about the ways they can help. Ink cartridge donations, money, food for volunteers, items to raffle off — it’s all good.”

Before she sends out her pitch, though, Ms. Stettner would love some advice from her peers in the fund-raising world. Please post a comment to show how you would improve the following appeal:

In 2000, I was walking across a bridge near Riverside Middle School in Springfield with my family. I looked over the railing into the water below, and a half-dozen shopping carts smiled back up at me. I complained that “somebody ought to DO something” about it, and my husband responded with “Well, YOU’RE somebody.” That comment prompted the first RiverSweep – I recruited two co-workers, my husband and our toddler daughter; we fished out 14 shopping carts, five or six tires, some tag sale signs, and a dozen or so bags of trash.

Fast-forward to 2008 – dozens of local volunteers participate in cleaning up the river, we’ve pulled out over 1,000 shopping carts, and I’m organizing the 9th Annual RiverSweep to take place in Ludlow, Springfield and all points in-between. The date is September 6th, from 9am till noon – funds are needed to purchase tee shirts for the volunteers, work-gloves, and materials for a new grappling hook; donations of refreshments are also needed.

Please help me continue this important work!

Every little bit helps! Whether you donate money or your empty ink cartridges for me to recycle, I will gladly list your company name on the backs of our tee shirts for 2008, as well as in a ‘thank you’ message in local newspapers & a link to your company on the BRAT website.

Our umbrella organization is still the Connecticut River Watershed Council and they will be happy to accept a tax-deductible donation on behalf of the BRAT – just make it out to CRWC and be sure to write “BRAT” in the memo section of your check; mail it to the address below. Donations can also be mailed directly to the BRAT at the address above, however those will not be tax-deductible.

Thank you for your support of the Black River Action Team. The group’s mission continues to be to improve and maintain the health of the Black River and the lands around it through creative partnership, hands-on projects, and cooperative projects.

Sincerely, Kelly Stettner, Director Connecticut River Watershed Council Black River Action Team