Your End of Year Appeal is one of the most crucial communication pieces for you and your donors. The following resources will help you craft and order your appeal with confidence.

End of Year Ask Resources

• Chalk Line Holiday Communication Planning Guide – 2023
• Chalk Line End of Year Ask Frequently Asked Questions
• How to Submit a “Prep-Ahead” Order with Chalk Line
• Ordering Tips for Using Chalk Line’s Online Storefront

Staying on top of your donor list is essential to maintaining connection and commitment. It’s required for communications you are mailing through us. To ensure that your donor mailings are completed quickly and correctly, we ask that you follow these guidelines:

• Please send your donor lists to us in a spreadsheet format, preferably either Microsoft Excel (.XLS or .XLSX), Apple Numbers (.NUMBERS), or a Comma Separated Values (.CSV) file. You may also share a link to a Google Spreadsheet with us.
• Set up your spreadsheet file so that each data field has its own separate column. This includes the Recipient’s Name, Mail Merge Greeting (if applicable), Address Lines, City, State, Zip/Postal codes, and Country (if applicable).
• We no longer accept mailing lists in the following formats: Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, or PDF. If you need to have your mailing list converted to a spreadsheet program, please contact us at friends@chalkline.org and we will assist you in converting it to a spreadsheet program that you can use for future orders.*

*Please note: If you send a mailing list to us with your order that is not in the correct format, we will happily assist you in the conversion to an acceptable spreadsheet program the first time at no additional cost. Using this corrected format will ensure your mailing is completed quickly and correctly. We humbly ask that you please use the corrected spreadsheet you have received from Chalk Line for future orders, as future conversions to an acceptable spreadsheet format will be subject to a $15 database correction fee each time the conversion must be made.

We have included the following guides to answer some of the most common questions about mailing list database submission.

Mailing List Tutorials

• Email Contacts Exporting-MPDX
• Email Contacts Exporting-TNT
• TnT MPD Data Export Connect Link
• MPDx Connect Services for Print Contacts
• MPDx Export for Print Contacts

Mailing List Templates

• Preferred! Spreadsheet Sample Database
• Sample Database with Greeting
• Sample Database for Email

Helping you communicate with your donors in a polished manner is our top priority. If design and format is not your strong suit, allow one of our in-house designers to do the work for you. Below are some tools and tips for creating beautiful and polished materials to send to your donors.

Print Layout Tutorials

• Preparing a Magnet for Submission to Chalk Line
• Preparing a Full Bleed Postcard for Submission to Chalk Line
• Preparing a Full Bleed Newsletter for Submission to Chalk Line

Print Layout Guide Templates

• Standard Magnet Layout Templates [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
• Postcard Layout Templates
  • 4×6 [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
  • 4.25×5.5 [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
  • 5×7 [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
  • 5.5×8.5 [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
• Full-Bleed Newsletter Layout Template [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
• 8.5 x 14 (Legal) with Perforated Bottom Layout Template [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
• Insert Layout Templates
  • 1/3 Page (8.5 x 3.65) Insert Layout Template [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
  • 1/4 Page (5.5 x 4) Insert Layout Template [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]
• 4×8 Photo Card Layout Template
• Tri-Fold Brochure with Full-Bleed [Pages] [Publisher] [Word] [JPEG] [PDF] [InDesign]