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Donor Communications

Watch your weenie words

I call them weenie words. Hedges. Qualifiers. And I don’t like them. Now, I don’t think of myself as a bold person. As a kid, I was an eager follower, not the leader. I do more listening than talking, content to let someone else lead the conversation. I’m cautious. I don’t make fast decisions. But […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, fundraising appeal, thank you 2 Comments

Keep it human to succeed

Fundraising is all about being human. Tremendous events are happening every day, all around us. But living in a time like this offers us the chance to learn. And as I try to absorb the daily news – new, impossibly high Covid counts, new, impossibly awful political news – I realize that a learning opportunity […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, emotion, identifiable victim effect 4 Comments

Hiring a fundraising copywriter?

How to get the most from your investment Do you need a good fundraising copywriter? If your fundraising plan includes individual donors, you should have a direct mail program. The size and scale of your program may vary, but unless you can keep in contact personally with every donor, direct mail is smart. But perhaps […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, fundraising copywriter Leave a Comment

Getting grief about your year-end appeal?

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 […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, fundraising appeal Leave a Comment

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. […]

Filed Under: Blog, Donor communications Tagged With: donor communications, fundraising copy 5 Comments

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