Short version of bio
Alan Sharpe didn’t discover that he wanted to write fundraising letters for a living until he had first fought in the Falklands War, travelled with the circus, lived in a snowhole, taught children with disabilities how to downhill ski and lived in Jane Fonda's old house in Paris.
Today, Alan is a direct mail fundraising copywriter, consultant and coach. He helps non-profit organizations worldwide to raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using cost-effective, compelling, creative fundraising letters.
As a seminar leader and speaker, Alan coaches executive directors and directors of development to craft engaging, warm appeal letters that win the hearts and minds of their donors.
Alan’s popular email newsletter, “Direct Mail Fundraising Today,” is read weekly by professional fundraisers worldwide.
Alan is also a contributing editor to Canadian FundRaiser.
Alan served as Director of Development and Communications for two international non-profits, where he was responsible for strategic planning, annual direct mail fundraising campaigns, major giving, planned giving, major events, publicity and other enjoyable headaches.
He lives and works in the other London (the one in Ontario, Canada).
Long version of bio
Alan Sharpe didn’t discover that he wanted to write fundraising letters for a living until he had first fought in the Falklands War, travelled with the circus, lived in a snowhole, eaten a penguin egg and lived in Jane Fonda's old house in Paris.
Today, as a direct mail fundraising copywriter, consultant and coach, Alan helps non-profit organizations worldwide to raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using cost-effective, compelling, creative fundraising letters.
Alan developed a heart for the neglected and downtrodden while attending St. Lawrence College, a boy’s boarding school in Ramsgate, England. There, his steady diet was biographies of Dr. Bernardo, Elizabeth Fry, David Livingstone and other social reformers who spent themselves serving the less fortunate.
Over the years, Alan taught children with disabilities how to downhill ski, served as a Big Brother and worked at a summer camp for disadvantaged urban youngsters.
In 1997, following a personal crisis at the University of Toronto, where Alan could not find answers to why there was so much suffering and hatred in the world, Alan decided to hitchhike around the world to find answers.
He got as far as Alicante, Spain, where he met a Canadian missionary who explained the Christian gospel to him. Through a miraculous turn of events, Alan cut short his travels, returned to Canada, and soon trusted Jesus Christ as his Saviour.
Alan is today an evangelical Christian, active as an evangelist and preacher.
Around that time, Alan taught himself the craft of advertising copywriting, and worked as a freelance copywriter as well as a senior copywriter for two advertising agencies.
Alan sold everything from pump parts to utility trailers to digital video transmission systems and insurance services, working in every media: print, radio, television, outdoor, multimedia and Internet. He even helped a client use direct mail to sell a coffee table book about Elvis Presley.
After working for a decade as a copywriter, Alan narrowed his focus to two specialties:
writing direct mail letters for businesses, and fundraising letters for
non-profits.
Today he and his team help non-profit organizations like Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity and Trans World Radio to raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using cost-effective, compelling, creative fundraising letters.
As a seminar leader and mentor, Alan coaches executive directors and
directors of development to craft engaging, warm appeal letters that win the
hearts and minds of their donors. Alan’s popular email newsletter,
Direct Mail Fundraising Today, is read weekly by
thousands of professional fundraisers worldwide.
 Before he started his own direct mail fundraising
consultancy, Alan served as Director of Development and Communications for two international non-profits, where he was responsible for strategic planning, annual direct mail fundraising campaigns, major giving, planned giving, major events, publicity and other enjoyable headaches.
Alan is happily married, has two boys, and lives and works in the other London (the one in Ontario, Canada). |
