I know a man who spent 21 years in maximum security prisons. A product of rape born in an abandoned building, he was incarcerated at age eight into Canada’s most violent and brutal reform school. He became a chronic runaway, then a gang leader, then a drug king-pin. He was addicted to drugs for 20 years. Was investigated for prison murders. And was classified as one of Canada’s most dangerous convicts.
Today, Serge LeClerc is a member of parliament and a sought-after speaker across North America. His story of how he went from lawbreaker to lawmaker is gripping and moving. People listen to Serge because he’s the real article. He has a moral authority that can’t be duplicated or faked. He commands respect and admiration.
Next time you sit down to craft a fundraising letter for your organization, ask yourself if you have someone like Serge who can write it instead. If you are a homeless shelter, do you have a client who can tell her story in her own words and sign her name at the bottom? If you are a university, do you have an alumnus who left skid row with the help of scholarships and graduated suma cum laude and is now a CEO? If you are a hospital, do you have a cardiac patient whose life was saved by your staff?
If your charity has transformed someone’s life, invite that person to write your donors on your letterhead, describing what life was like before you intervened, how you helped, and what life is like now. That letter is sure to touch hearts and move your donors to give.
The main advantage of fundraising letters written by your clients is that they are authentic and gripping. They don’t sound institutional or NGO-ish. The main disadvantage is that your client cannot speak with any authority or credibility about your case for support. Your client can describe how donations helped her leave the streets, get sober and pursue a career in interior design, but she cannot describe your institutional need or what you will do with a donor’s gift. That has to come from the pen of your executive director or board chair.
Another disadvantage of letters written by clients is that they can’t acknowledge a donor’s giving history. A client cannot write, “Thank you for your last donation of $500, which we receive on May 13th.” That would be a breach of confidentiality. And it would sound affected, because it is.
The secret to using first-person stories recounted by your clients is to supplement them with another letter or note from the person who usually signs your fundraising letters. In this piece, the staffer can introduce the client who penned the letter, thank them for doing so, and describe why the donor’s renewed support is needed. This is the letter that makes the ask.
If you’d like to read some letters that are written by clients, buy Over 130 Sample Fundraising Letters.
