Here are your answers to common complaints Right now, someone in your organization, or an outside expert, is busy writing your important year-end appeal. And a lot of other people are sharpening their red pencils. I have been responding to copy criticism for decades. And the critiques are often along the same lines, time after […]
How to write something worth reading
If you are going to make me read something twice, it had damned well better be worth it! ~Gordon Wickstrom If you want to write something worth reading, listen to Gordon. Gordon was one of my absolute favorite professors in college. He taught Shakespeare and modern drama, and Irish drama. I lapped it all up. […]
Dear Fundraiser: Things we shouldn’t do
Dear Fundraiser, Here are the things I wish we wouldn’t do. I’m cheering for our success. So in a helpful spirit, I offer you my list below. So, putting on my donor hat, I wish we wouldn’t: Send an automated thank you message for an online gift and assume that’s enough Forget to thank […]
Treating So-Called Small Donors Like Rockstars
If the best type of fundraising is one where we create a meaningful and long-lasting relationship with our donors, how can we do that when we’re physically disconnected from each other? Furthermore, how can we do that to any type and size of gift, not just so-called major gifts? According to the Fundraising Effectiveness Project, […]
Who are you talking to?
When to use your inside or outside voice Have you ever heard a parent ask a young child to use their “inside voice”? Usually, that’s a nice way of saying “be quiet, please!” We have inside and outside voices, too. Inside Outside Donor segments All donors matter Program specific jargon Simple language Meeting or event […]