Monthly Archives: June 2006
Your Donors Deserve Pity (In Your Fundraising Letters)
Back in 1985, which I now realize is more than 20 years ago, a homeless man stood at the corner of College and Yonge streets, in downtown Toronto, begging for money. Continue reading
Do Your Donors Hear Voices (in Your Donation Request Letters)?
Fundraising letters are about people. People talk. So your fundraising letters should include the voices of people. Continue reading
Enter Shooting to Make Your Donation Request Letters Irresistible
When the Argentine army surrendered in June of 1982, ending the Falklands War, some Royal Marines discovered that the quickest way to get the attention of stubborn Argentine prisoners, since we did not speak their language, and they did not speak ours, was to hit them on the elbow with the handle of a pickaxe. Prisoners treated in this fashion followed our orders.
Continue reading
Donation Request Letters Need Suspense To Keep Donor Attention.
How would your next fundraising letter perform if Agatha Christie wrote it? Continue reading
Successful Fundraising Letters Give Your Donors Conflict.
Your fundraising letters will be more dramatic if you write them like a novel. Continue reading
Free Sample Donation Thank-You Letter for Fundraising Gift or Contribution.
The most important letter in direct mail fundraising never asks for a donation. Thank-you letters increase donor loyalty, strengthen relationships and increase your chances of receiving more gifts in the future, including major gifts and legacy gifts. —————————————————————- Receive a … Continue reading
Donation Thank-You Letters, Cards And Notes Should Never Ask For A Gift.
The most important letter in direct mail fundraising never asks for a gift. Ever. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe Tips here Browse Alan’s books, handbooks and tools about … Continue reading
Donation Thank-You Letter Mistakes To Avoid In Direct Mail Fundraising.
I once had a friend who used to bid me farewell by exclaiming, “Up ’yer kilt!” Where Jock is today and how many pals he still has I cannot tell. But his original and startling phrase reminds me of a … Continue reading
How to Write a Donation Thank-you Letter.
Thank-you letters are one of the most important letters that your non-profit mails to donors. They remind donors that they made the right decision in supporting your organization. They show that you are grateful for the donors gift. —————————————————————- Receive … Continue reading
Improve Your Donation Thank-You Letters, Cards and Notes: Make Your Donor The Hero.
One temptation in writing fundraising thank-you letters is to make your organization the star of the letter. You feel pressure to tell your donors how terrific you are, how cost-effective you are or how broke you are. —————————————————————- Receive a … Continue reading
Send Donation Thank-You Letters, Cards and Notes Quickly.
The most important thing about your donation thank- you letters is not what you say or how you say it but how quickly you say it. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up … Continue reading
Write Novel Fundraising Letters Using Fiction Techniques.
What would happen if the author of The Da Vinci Code wrote your next direct mail fundraising appeal letter? —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe Tips here Browse Alan’s … Continue reading
Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Ask Anyone For A Direct Mail Donation.
I have a brother-in-law who farms and drives a 16-wheeler for a living. When I told him that I start each business day with a blank computer screen that I must fill with at least 1,000 words by noon, he … Continue reading
Fundraising Letter Response Rates: Boost Them (And Your Revenue) By Watching Nine Vital Statistics.
Direct mail fundraising is a numbers game. A game that changes all the time. Who could have predicted the advent of online giving? Or the popularity of sweepstakes? Or the rise of a generation of young donors whose primary method … Continue reading
Direct Mail Fundraising Arithmetic: Avoid Blunders By Knowing Your Numbers.
Your direct mail fundraising results never lie. But they mislead you if you let them. I worked as Director of Development for a national charity that held a lavish fundraising banquet each year. The staff, from the executive director down … Continue reading
Year-End Fundraising Letter Appeals: 7 Tips to Give Them a Boost.
If your non-profit organization is like many others, you receive half or more or your contributed income at the end of the year as part of what used to be called the “Christmas Appeal.” —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip … Continue reading
First-Time Direct Mail Donors: How To W-I-N Them Over As Repeat Givers.
Don’t ask me how I know, but in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings you’ll sometimes hear a member mention “The Elephant in the Living Room.” —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe … Continue reading
Premiums in Request Letters Asking for Donations: Examples and Samples of Pros and Cons.
Q. What is a premium? A. In direct mail fundraising letters, a premium is an item offered to a donor, usually at no charge, to encourage the donor to make a donation. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this … Continue reading
Donor Newsletters Boost Direct Mail Donations Without Asking For Donations.
I have a client whose direct mail fundraising program is in trouble. I think you can profit from his predicament. I know he is going to. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up … Continue reading
Donor-Centered Newsletter Stories Increase Income, Boost Donor Loyalty.
Your donors read your donor newsletter to discover news about themselves. You are of secondary interest. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe Tips here Browse Alan’s books, handbooks and … Continue reading
Increase Average Fundraising Gift By Segmenting Your Donor List.
How many of your current donors would give you a larger gift if you only knew how to ask them? Quite a few, quite likely. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for … Continue reading
Fundraising Mailing Lists: How List Brokers Can Help Your Appeal.
Last time I checked, there were 25,000 response lists and 50,000 compiled lists currently on the market. Among all of these lists, you’ll find hundreds that work for fundraising appeals. Actually, you likely won’t find them. Locating the best names … Continue reading
How To Create Irresistible Fundraising Letter Envelopes.
Your readers spend only a few seconds deciding the fate of your direct mail fundraising appeals. Either they open them on the spot, set them aside for later, or chuck them in the waste paper basket. Here are some creative … Continue reading
How to Write a Fundraising Letter (4 Tips).
Address your reader as a friend, not as “Friend.” When was the last time you received a letter from someone dear to you, addressing you as “Dear Friend?” Never, right? —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week … Continue reading
How to Increase the Size of Donor Gifts with Fundraising Letters.
Do you want your donors to give more, do you want them to give more often, or do you want more of your donors to give?If your answer is “all of the above,” here are some tested ways to increase … Continue reading
Your Fundraising Appeal Letters Need a Villain.
Anger is one of the best emotions that you can arouse in a donor. Anger is a healthy emotion, particularly when your fundraising letter offers donors a way to assuage their anger. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this … Continue reading
Fundraising Letter Appeals: Where to Look for New Donors.
Have you ever studied your best donors and wished you could clone them all? Maybe you can, with a bit of creative thinking. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe … Continue reading
Need New Direct Mail Donors? Look For These Three Qualities For Fundraising Letter Success.
New donors are a lot closer than you may think. And persuading them to make that vital first donation need not be as hard—or as expensive—as acquiring them in other ways. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each … Continue reading
Acquisition Fundraising Letters Should Raise Donors, Not Donations
Are you willing to spend $1.25 to raise $1? To lose money to make money? You should be. Most donor acquisition mailings never pay for themselves. They lose money. And rightly so. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this … Continue reading
Your Not-For-Profit Fundraising Letter Program Has Three Goals.
Your direct mail fundraising program should have three goals. —————————————————————- Receive a free fundraising tip like this each week by email. Sign up for Raiser Sharpe Tips here Browse Alan’s books, handbooks and tools about fundraising. Visit the fundraising bookstore … Continue reading
