What is included in a gift letter? The letter must explain who is gifting the money, where the donor's funds are coming from and the relationship between the donor and the recipient.The gift letter should also spell out the donor's relationship to the borrower and provide contact information. A gift letter is a common requirement when submitting an offer on a coop apartment in NYC. If you go through a bank they will provide the gift letter form to you to get completed. If someone provides a handwritten letter it is filed away. "AmeriSave offers borrowers a standardized gift letter template," says Flynt. If you're borrowing money from parents for your home purchase down payment, lenders will want to see a gift letter for mortgage approval in NYC. A gift letter is an important, formal, legal piece of documentation that can help explain that a (usually rather large) sum of money was gifted to you. • If You Give Money or Gifts to the Custodial Parent.