Below is a typical gift letter template you can share with donors. You can use gifted funds to make a down payment, but your mortgage lender will want to know some details before they allow you to use it.A mortgage gift letter should include specific details about the donor, buyer, and gift amount, including: Donors name, address, and relationship to the buyer. Here's a sample gift letter you can use to prove that the money is truly meant as an outright gift, with no expectation of repayment.