Putting together an appeal that works Before you write Back when I was a Girl Scout, we had a bake-off. (I won our Brownie bake-off with peanut butter blossoms because I voted for myself. I still have residual guilt about that.) One of the lessons was to assemble your ingredients before you start. So before […]
Why somebody will never save your organization
A case for personal fundraising Somebody rarely volunteers. Somebody is easy to ask. Somebody is distant, polite, impersonal… safe. And Somebody never gives. Your organization has a mission – a problem to be solved. The solution almost always requires money. To raise that money, you turn to people who might care about your cause. Maybe […]
Do you need a makeover for your fundraising appeal?
Under deadline and working on an appeal? You’ve probably heard you should write fast and edit slow. And so you should. But how do you turn that rambling first draft into an effective appeal – fast? There’s definitely an art to writing a great appeal. It takes time to learn. Time, and lots of trial […]
Are you facing the terror of the blank page?
“But I’ve said it all before!” The cursor blinks, daring you to give up. Your hands are poised, willing your brain to direct them. And the page is still blank. Are you working on a spring appeal? Finding it hard to come up with something new? I have some good news for you: you might […]
8 easy ways to write a better fundraising appeal
Here’s what I know about writing good fundraising letters: You can practice and study for years and still feel like you’re only scratching the surface. There’s always something new, because we’re always learning something new. So perfection will always be out of reach. But don’t let the perfect get in the way of the good. […]