You’ve written an appeal that needs to go out the door yesterday. But you’ve been hearing all this news about being “donor-centered,” using “neuroscience,” and all those other buzzwords—and you’re not sure your letter measures up. While it’s always better to study up before writing your appeal, I … [Read more...]
Use your (five) senses
Vivid language that strikes at a donor’s senses goes a lot further than run-of-the-mill cliches. You may have read an earlier blog entry about the power of storytelling to light up listener’s brains. However, there was one aspect that I didn’t delve into—the language of storytelling. To be truly … [Read more...]
Take them on a journey
A story without twists and turns is boring. If there were no obstacles, every romantic comedy, adventure film, mystery, or drama would be about ten minutes long. Your story should have some twists, turns, and obstacles, too. I’m not talking about manufacturing drama, but giving some insight into … [Read more...]
Building a Better Thank You Letter, Part II
Organization-Centered to Donor-Centered Last week, we looked at how I edited the opening of a good thank you letter to make it better. This week, we’ll look at the body of the letter and how to describe organizational accomplishments in donor-centered terms. In donor-centered fundraising, it's not … [Read more...]
Building a Better Thank You Letter, Part I
An organization’s executive director asked me to review a letter he planned to send to major donors. This was a thank you letter at the turn of the new year to thank the previous year’s donors, not a letter in response to any specific gift. That’s a terrific way to show appreciation for donors. It … [Read more...]