Okay, I know it’s rude.
But this coaster made me laugh so hard I had to buy it. If you’re an introvert, you’ll understand.
It now sits quietly on my desk, covered by my mug, where it won’t insult anyone.
But as I looked at it today, I connected it to one of the most common mistakes I see in my mailbox and across the sector. The feeling you need to convey to your donors if you want to communicate your organization’s value.
And I get it. I want you to be proud of what you do and why. Not feeling passionate about your mission leads to a very unhappy fundraiser. And probably, an ineffective one.
But. Your appeal won’t persuade someone to give by flooding them with all the ways your organization is fabulous. Because your donors aren’t looking for fabulous. They’re looking for the donor-shaped hole that they can fill.
It’s about them, not about you.
If your donor communications are largely focused on your organization’s great methods, good work, number of people served, etc., where do your donors fit in?
How to fix that? A few thoughts:
Donor communications should be owned by the fundraising team. In particular, the individual giving folks.
Sorry, marketing comms, but this is not your lane. Your “brand” colors, fonts, and language may not be right for genuine, personal, easy-to-absorb donor comms. Your job, while important, isn’t fundraising. Leave fundraising choices to them.
Focus on the donor, not the organization.
Unless this is a cold mailing (something being sent to people who may not know anything about your organization), donors already know what you do. (Or at least, enough for them to have opened your envelope or email.)
What they need to know is how they can help. So please, toss your fear of “donor dominance.” Treat your donors as partners, treasured partners. They don’t have to part with their hard-earned money. But these lovely people choose to do just that.
One simple test from Tom Ahern: write your appeal package, then look for all the instances of “you” in the document. That simple word can do a lot of heavy lifting, so you want to use it often. It reconnects the reader to your appeal.
If you find more “we” than “you”… rewrite it with a different mindset. You’ll raise more money.
That mindset? Change it
I’ve been writing to donors for a very long time. And one thing I realized – I’m not sure when – was that feeling loving toward the people who support your mission as you communicate changes the results. Of course, I don’t mean romantic love. But allow yourself to feel grateful for the people who support your work. Appreciate their kindness and compassion. And let them know how you feel.
Do this, and the way you communicate will change. AND… you’ll feel better, too. It’s contagious in the best way.
Giving is personal
Giving is an act from the heart. It’s a choice to part with a bit of your own earnings, security, and even choices. (That new music you want to buy, or a chance to help feed a child?)
And because it’s personal, it deserves your personal attention. It deserves an easy-to-read font, lots of white space, language that’s not work…
And focused on connecting the reader to your mission.
You step aside. You’re the facilitator, not the hero.
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