Say it again! Why repetition works so well. Today I found myself hunting for an idea I’d seen for a lapsed donor appeal. My search took me to some letters I’d written years ago. I wrote the letters at my former organization. With a few years’ distance, I definitely found a few things I’d change. But […]
Have you ditched your annual appeal yet?
Here’s why you should ditch that annual appeal I just emailed a letter, response form, and list to the mail house. Our base tends to be generous at this time of year. (Yours probably is, too.) There’s a lot riding on this appeal, and I’ve spent many hours on my offer, my story, my response […]
Writing for someone else’s voice
If you write fundraising appeals, chances are someone else will sign what you write. So how do you write in a way that’s both compelling and believable? The most important thing is not that the letter sounds like the person signing it. The most important thing is that the letter is effective. So resist complaints […]
The royal we
Do you see a lot of the “royal we” in your mailbox? Know what I mean? “XYZ has been successfully helping [poor, hungry, sick] people for more than 30 years. During that time, we have blah, blah, blah. We have been recognized by Charity Navigator for our excellent finances. We have been celebrated by our […]
The power of one
You’ve probably been hearing the story of young Sarah Murnaghan, the 10-year-old girl with end-stage cystic fibrosis. She’s in desperate need of a lung transplant. Without one, she isn’t likely to survive the next couple of weeks. But transplant rules don’t allow her to move to the front of the line – before adults and […]