The focus is different in fundraising
This is a big difference that can cause friction in your organization.
Fundraising communication is about the donor and the beneficiary. Your organization fades into the background. You’re a means to a meaningful end.
That’s why “branding” is less important in fundraising. Yes, you need to build trust in your organization. And that’s the real branding – how people feel about you. Your logo, your tagline, your font, your colors? Not so important to us.
It can certainly feel odd not to leave your organization in the spotlight. Especially if you’ve trained in marketing communications. Your brand is everything!
But the most effective fundraising communication tightens the bond between donor and beneficiary. Your organization is simply the connector.
As a fundraiser, you have a different job – and a different goal. Your job is encouraging kind people to help others. You shine a light on a problem… one that’s presented in a very personal, human way. And then you ask someone to solve it.
Trust grows with a relationship, not a logo.
Truth vs. Fact
Fundraising communication isn’t journalism (just the facts, ma’am). The idea is to tell the truth, but the facts are less important.
Privacy is crucial when talking to someone about their situation… especially if their story is painful or embarrassing to them. You’ll only uncover the truth of their story if they feel safe. And if they know their privacy will protected. When you interview someone, you take on that responsibility.
So details may need to change when you create that appeal… like their location, their name, their age, or gender. You might even combine two stories to give both people the safety they deserve.
You’re not making up stories here. It’s not fiction. And it’s still true.
And that truth is found in its humanity. Is someone afraid? Hurt? Hungry? The problem they faced needs to be true: their personal details do not.
Fundraising is all about emotion. We don’t find it rational to give our money away. We make giving choices based on our feelings. (And then rationalize them.)
So as a fundraising communicator, your job is to find that essential truth, that true emotion, and share that.
We’re storytellers, not journalists
Another way fundraising communication may differ is we communicate with stories. Whether it’s a tiny nugget or a long story, we know that stories are the best way to slide information into someone’s heart… and head.
Stories have always been the best way to communicate. Instead of explaining our organization’s work, we illustrate it with a story. So fundraisers are always looking for good ones. You can help by bringing them any stories you find!
Conversation rather than perfect grammar
Set your favorite English teacher aside. Because what you want donors to hear in their head as they read is someone speaking to them, casually. Conversationally. That’s why sentence fragments are fine. Ellipses… they’re how we talk.
A conversational letter or email will not show your organization in a bad light. No one is grading you. But a stiff, “professional” one will put distance between you and the reader. Pull them close instead.
When this causes friction, it’s often because someone in your organization fears looking less smart. So you might need to gently explain that some of the best writers broke the rules. This craft – fundraising communication – is driven by results. And that what has been shown to work, over and over again, is making your communications as real and human as possible.
Do it well, and that concerned someone at your organization will look like a genius.
Great tips for editing fundraising communications
My friend, Lisa Sargent, has taught me more than I could say. And she recently wrote a fantastic piece about editing fundraising comms. Share it with your marketing comms team… and anyone else who might need to read it.
As is everything she writes, it’s genius. You’ll want to subscribe to her twice-monthly newsletter. But in the meantime, you can read “Editing Session” here.
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