Raiser Sharpe Tips | Fundraising pointers from Alan Sharpe, CFRE, fundraising practitioner, author, trainer and speaker.

Online Fundraising Donation Pages Must Answer Donor’s 3 Questions

Posted on February 8, 2008 by Alan Sharpe

Do you use direct mail fundraising letters to drive donors to your website to make their donations? If you do, make sure your website donation page answers the three most common questions asked by donors. Continue reading →

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Online Fundraising: Four Deadly Blunders to Avoid

Posted on February 1, 2008 by Alan Sharpe

The good news is that 62 percent of adults visit a non-profit’s website before donating (according to a recent online survey conducted by Harris Interactive).

That’s also the bad news.

For many non-profits, the quickest way they can scare away donors is to direct them to the organization’s website. Too many non-profit websites are making blunders that discourage donors from browsing, donating, volunteering or referring others to the site. Here are four common blunders, and how to avoid them. Continue reading →

Reduce Your Direct Mail Fundraising Costs by Mailing Less Often to Those Who Give Less

Posted on January 18, 2008 by Alan Sharpe

The secret to reducing your direct mail fundraising costs is counterintuitive, like fertilizer.

Next time you’re out in the boonies, watch as a farmer spreads fertilizer over his field. As he passes over the parts of his field that always produce the smallest yield, he spreads little or no fertilizer. As he passes over those parts of his field that traditionally deliver the highest yield, he pours the fertilizer on thick.

If you’re a city-slicker like me, that doesn’t make any sense. Why doesn’t the farmer fertilize the part of his field that obviously needs the most help? Surely the poor soil needs the fertilizer more than the healthy soil, right?

Wrong. Continue reading →

Posted in Strategy | Leave a comment

41 Things You Can Mail to Donors in Direct Mail Fundraising

Posted on January 11, 2008 by Alan Sharpe

Want to learn a lesson in direct mail fundraising from Winston Churchill? He once observed that a fanatic is “someone who can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject.”

A fundraising letter fanatic, of course, is someone who thinks the only thing you can mail a donor is a fundraising letter. But that’s just one of more than 40 things you can mail to make friends and raise funds using paper and postage. Continue reading →

Posted in Asks, Lapsed donor reactivation, Newsletters, donor, Postage, Premiums, Strategy, Testimonials | Leave a comment

Five Vital Signs of a Healthy Direct Mail Fundraising Program

Posted on January 4, 2008 by Alan Sharpe

I spent last night visiting two hospitals with my four-year-old son, Spencer. I noticed that the staff at each hospital took the same vital signs (pulse, oxygen saturation, temperature, breathing) to determine Spencer’s health. Nurses and doctors miles apart, working for different hospitals, on different shifts, knew the same things to look for to determine the health of their patient.

You must do the same with your direct mail fundraising program. Here are the five vital signs to watch for to make sure your program is healthy, and remains healthy. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Donor renewal, Premiums, Response, Results, Strategy | Leave a comment

Direct Mail Fundraising Success Depends on a Strong Case for Support

Posted on December 28, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

The secret to raising funds with direct mail appeal letters is not found in what you say or in how you say it but in why you say it.

Success is found not in technique but in truth. The truth of your case for support. That’s why, before you write a word of your fundraising letter you must state your case for why a donor should support you. I am not talking about a “case for need.” In donor-centered fundraising there is no such bird. Your needs are immaterial. What’s important to your donors is why they should support you. Their needs come first, not your’s. Continue reading →

Posted in Strategy | Leave a comment

Creative Business Reply Envelopes Boost Fundraising Letter Response Rates

Posted on December 21, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

When was the last time you agonized over what to put on your business reply envelope? If you’re like most non-profit organizations, your BRE never changes. You mail the same BRE with every direct mail fundraising letter. And you likely print your BREs in bulk to save on printing.

But maybe you should re-think the humble BRE. Continue reading →

Posted in Response | Leave a comment

Donor Newsletters: Four Things Your Donors Demand from You

Posted on November 30, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Back in the 1990s, I worked for a non-profit organization that mailed a multi-page, full-colour newsletter to around 14,000 people each month, at a cost of around $0.50 a piece. The majority of people who received the newsletter had never given a donation to the organization. Yet the organization had been mailing thousands of these people month in and month out, for years. Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Fundraising Letter Writing Tips from Reader’s Digest

Posted on November 23, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

If your donor has the choice of reading your fundraising letter or reading the latest issue of Reader’s Digest, which one will she read?

This is not a trick question. The competition for your donor’s attention has never been greater. If you want your donors and members to read your fundraising letters from start to finish, learn a few lessons from the editors at Reader’s Digest, the largest-selling magazine in the world. Continue reading →

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Boost Your Direct Mail Fundraising Response Rates with Deadlines

Posted on November 16, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Why did the Canadian cross the road? To get to the middle.

Your job as a direct mail fundraiser is to give your donors both a reason for donating and an incentive for donating.

Your enemy is inertia. Your enemy is Coronation Street. Plenty of perfectly nice donors with perfectly good intentions to donate will nevertheless procrastinate or get distracted, lay your fundraising letter aside to deal with tomorrow, but then forget.

Which is why you should consider using an incentive, something that will give your appeal letter a sense of urgency. Something that’ll motivate your donor to act today. I recommend a deadline. Give your donor a deadline for responding and you will likely boost your response rate. Continue reading →

Posted in Asks, Response, Results, Strategy | Leave a comment

Reduce Direct Mail Donor Attrition in Four Ways

Posted on November 9, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Your non-profit loses 15 percent of its donors every year, if you are typical. What can you do to reduce that percentage? Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Donor renewal, Lapsed donor reactivation | Leave a comment

In Fundraising Letters, Prove Relevance by Unseating Popular Icons

Posted on October 26, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

One of the quickest ways to win the attention of your distracted donors is to take a popular icon and make it a villain. By linking your cause with a trend or fad, and by taking a contrarian view, you demonstrate to donors that you are relevant, innovative and worthy of continued support. Continue reading →

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No Such Thing as a Fundraising Letter

Posted on October 19, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

If you want to be successful at raising money with fundraising letters, the first lesson you must learn is that there’s no such thing as a fundraising letter. Continue reading →

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Attract More Donors with Direct Mail Donor Acquisition Fundraising Letters by Avoiding these Mistakes

Posted on October 12, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Woody Allen once said that “80 percent of success is just showing up.”

He was wrong, of course. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Strategy | Leave a comment

Build Your Direct Mail Fundraising Mailing List in Three Ways

Posted on October 5, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Your success as a direct mail fundraiser depends on the quality of your list. A mediocre letter mailed to the right list will outperform a terrific letter mailed to the wrong list. How you build that list is up to you. Here are three ways. Continue reading →

Posted in Databases, Donor acquisition, Lists | Leave a comment

How Donor Acquisition Mailings Differ from Donor Renewal Mailings

Posted on September 28, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Your job as a direct mail fundraiser is to make new friends every and keep them for as long as possible. And to do that you need two kinds of letter, acquisition and renewal. Understand the differences between these two letters and you’ll improve your results. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Donor renewal | Leave a comment

Prevent Costly Direct Mail Donor Acquisition Blunders with Test Mailings

Posted on September 21, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

I know a non-profit that mailed a direct mail donor acquisition package to thousands of potential donors and generated a response rate of exactly zero. That’s not a typo. Not a single person responded to the mailing. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Lists, Results, Strategy, Testing | Leave a comment

Grant Proposals Must Promote Funder’s Goals, Not Yours

Posted on September 7, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

The bad news about grant proposal writing is that grant makers will never fund what you want them to. They only fund what they want to fund.

They fund projects that further their mission.

They fund initiatives that meet their priorities. Continue reading →

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Posted on August 30, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

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Posted in Fundraising letters | Leave a comment

In Donor Newsletters, Avoid Cliché Photos

Posted on August 24, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

If you want to guarantee that your donors will ignore your newsletters, illustrate your stories with cliché photos. Here are the top four: Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Donor Newsletters Must Avoid Boring Stories in Direct Mail Fundraising

Posted on August 17, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

One day one of the greatest bores at the Player’s Club said to Oliver Herford, “Oliver, I have been grossly insulted. Just as I passed that group over there I overheard someone say he would give me fifty dollars to resign from the club.”

“Hold out for a hundred,” counselled Hereford, “you’ll get it.” Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Donor Newsletters Must be Newsworthy in Direct Mail Fundraising

Posted on August 10, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

The secret to publishing compelling donor newsletters is to only publish stories that are newsworthy to your donors. But how do you decide if a story is newsworthy? Take this simple test. Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Millionaires Are Generous Donors if Asked Properly

Posted on August 3, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

I was pontificating with my wife, Ruth, the other day, explaining that fundraisers have no control over one of the Big Cs of fundraising. “Ideal donors,” I announced, “have the Capacity to give, have a strong Connection with the charity, and are Committed to support the charity over the long term.” Continue reading →

Posted in Asks | Leave a comment

Not All Wealthy Direct Mail Donors Live in Upscale Neighbourhoods

Posted on July 27, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

If you look for wealthy donors in all the usual places you’ll receive the usual result.

Disappointment. Continue reading →

Posted in Fundraising letters | Leave a comment

Look for Tightwads, Not Millionaires in Direct Mail Donor Acquisition

Posted on July 23, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Most first-generation millionaires are tightwads. They aren’t rich because of how much they spend but because of how much they save.

If you need to find millionaires who will donate a large sum of money to your non-profit organization, look for tightwads, not millionaires. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Prospect research | Leave a comment

Direct Mail Fundraising is a Program, Not a Campaign

Posted on July 13, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Before they hired me as their director of development, and before they ran out of money and laid me off, a non-profit organization whose name is unmentionable ran an unmentionable direct mail program. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor renewal, Strategy | Leave a comment

Database Direct Mail Fundraising: Improve Personalization Results with Detective Work.

Posted on July 6, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Next time you are arrested, pay attention to what information the police officer asks you to divulge immediately. It’s not a lot. Continue reading →

Posted in Databases | Leave a comment

Are Your Fundraising Letters Too Short?

Posted on June 29, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Casanova never penned a one-page love letter. So neither should you.

I write fundraising letters for some of the most well-known non-profits in North America, and not one of them has ever hired me to write a one-page fundraising letter. They know from testing that donors read two-page letters. And four-page letters. Even eight-page letters. Donors read what interests them, and not a word more. Continue reading →

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Count Your Donors and Your Dollars in Direct Mail Fundraising.

Posted on June 21, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

One of the greatest mistakes I see non-profit organizations making is watching their dollars and not their donors. Continue reading →

Posted in Databases, Response, Results | Leave a comment

Email Fundraising Subject Lines: Use Today’s News Headlines to Boost Open Rates.

Posted on June 15, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

If you want to increase the number of people who read your email fundraising letters and email newsletters, put today’s headlines in your email subject lines. Continue reading →

Posted in Email fundraising | Leave a comment

Direct Mail Fundraising Letters: Your Competitor is American Idol.

Posted on June 8, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

The bereaved mother who became a figurehead for the US anti-war movement abandoned her fight in May 2007 after growing disenchanted with the campaign. Continue reading →

Posted in Response, Strategy | Leave a comment

Measure Your Success in Direct Mail Fundraising with Just Four Numbers

Posted on May 4, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

A while back I realized that measuring the effectiveness of direct mail fundraising campaigns is a lot easier than I’d thought. Continue reading →

Posted in Response, Results, Testing | Leave a comment

In Donor Newsletters, Put Captions Under Photos to Boost Readership

Posted on April 27, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

A picture is never worth a thousand words. After all, why do newspapers and websites contain more words than images? Because pictures are insufficient on their own. Would you date someone whose nice photo you saw online, if that’s all you had to go on? Of course not. Pictures are not worth a thousand words. Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

In Direct Mail Donor Acquisition, Compare Cost Per Donor with Cost Per Dollar.

Posted on April 20, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

The best way to measure your success in direct mail donor acquisition is to examine your cost to raise a donor rather than your cost to raise a dollar. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Response, Results, Testing | Leave a comment

Are You Too Small for Direct Mail Donor Acquisition?

Posted on April 13, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Some non-profit organizations should not use direct mail as a way to attract new donors. Is your organization one of them? Take this simple test and find out. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Strategy | Leave a comment

A List of Direct Mail Fundraising List Brokers and Managers for Your Acquisition or Prospect Mailings.

Posted on March 30, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Nothing is more important in direct mail fundraising than who you mail to. A terrific letter mailed to the wrong list of people will flop. I have a client who mailed a donor acquisition package to people who had not supported his organization but had supported another. The response to his appeal was zero. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Lists | Leave a comment

Response Rates to Expect in Direct Mail Fundraising.

Posted on February 23, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

What kind of response rates do your direct mail fundraising letters generate? Continue reading →

Posted in Response, Results | Leave a comment

Boost Net Income by Mailing Fewer Direct Mail Fundraising Appeal Letters.

Posted on February 2, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

One of the easiest ways to boost net revenue in direct mail fundraising is to stop sending every appeal to every donor. Continue reading →

Posted in Databases | Leave a comment

Use Quotations in Your Fundraising Appeal Letters to Inspire and Motivate Your Donors.

Posted on January 19, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Next time you write a letter to a donor but can’t think of the best way to express yourself, let someone else do it for you.

Someone like Mother Theresa. Mark Twain. Rosa Parks. Ernest Hemmingway. Continue reading →

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Why New Non-profits Shouldn’t Use Direct Mail to Raise Start-up Capital.

Posted on January 12, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Be warned. If you’re starting a non-profit and don’t have $100,000 in the bank, don’t use direct mail. You literally cannot afford to use direct mail to raise funds right now. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Strategy | Leave a comment

In Direct Mail Donor Acquisition, What You Win Them With Is What You Win Them To.

Posted on January 5, 2007 by Alan Sharpe

Want to learn a vital lesson in donor retention? Here’s a tactic from Sunday School to avoid. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Donor renewal, Premiums | Leave a comment

How Long are your Donors? Improve Donor Tenure and You’ll Boost Fundraising Request Letter Revenue.

Posted on December 15, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

How long do most of your donors contribute to your organization before they walk away? One year? Five? Ten? You should know. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor renewal, Lapsed donor reactivation, Results | Leave a comment

Three Donor Newsletter Mistakes to Avoid.

Posted on December 8, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Every healthy direct mail fundraising program balances asking with informing. Appeal letters do the asking. And donor newsletters do the informing. Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Annual Doesn’t Mean Annually in Direct Mail Fundraising Campaigns.

Posted on November 3, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

One of your greatest obstacles in operating a successful annual fund is thinking of it as an annual fund. Continue reading →

Posted in Strategy | Leave a comment

Don’t Mail a #10 Fundraising Letter Envelope if You Want to Stand Out

Posted on October 27, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

What would you do if I mailed you a package of black and white photos? Would you throw the package in the trash unopened? Continue reading →

Posted in Fundraising letters | Leave a comment

Friend, Get a Friend with Donation Request Fundraising Letters.

Posted on October 20, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

New donors are closer than you think. Often they are friends of your donors, or family members. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition | Leave a comment

Stamps Boost Response Rates Over Metered Postage or Indicias (Usually).

Posted on October 4, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Direct mail fundraisers learned long ago that stamps boost response rates. Maybe the same will work for your sales letters. Why not test and find out? Continue reading →

Posted in Postage | Leave a comment

Spot Potential Direct Mail Donors Using the 3 Cs of Fundraising.

Posted on September 22, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

What does an ideal new direct mail donor look like? How can you spot one in a crowd? Or in a list of potential donors? Look for the 3 Cs. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition, Strategy | Leave a comment

Appealing Fundraising Letters Request More than Donations.

Posted on September 15, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

The last thing you should ask for in a fundraising letter is a donation. You have no business asking for money until you have first persuaded your donor that you deserve her attention, value her time, appreciate her as a person, and want to partner with her in turning the world upside-down. Continue reading →

Posted in Asks | Leave a comment

Fundraising Letter Frequency: Mail Often Enough to Prove Friends Stay in Touch.

Posted on September 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Want to know one of the most vital truths in direct mail fundraising? Friends stay in touch. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor renewal | Leave a comment

Online Fundraising: Build Your List of Email Donors in 10 Simple Internet Ways.

Posted on August 25, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Your greatest challenge as an email fundraiser is your list. If your organization is typical, only 10% of the people in your donor file have given you their email address. And that list isn’t growing any larger all on its own. Continue reading →

Posted in Email fundraising | Leave a comment

Email Fundraising Must Inspire Donors to Go Online.

Posted on August 18, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Sending an email with no links to follow is like mailing a direct mail appeal without enclosing a reply device or return envelope. Costly. Continue reading →

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Boost Email Donor Newsletter Open Rates with Safe Subject Lines.

Posted on August 4, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

The last time I checked, which is to say, yesterday, the average open rate for an email donor newsletter was 37%. That means 63 percent of donors are not opening the email newsletters they’ve asked to receive. Continue reading →

Posted in Email fundraising, Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Email Donor Newsletters: Improve Your Open Rates for Online Fundraising and Donation Success

Posted on July 28, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

One of the greatest challenges in email fundraising is poor open rates. The majority of donors who subscribe to email donor newsletters receive them but never open them. Continue reading →

Posted in Email fundraising, Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Email Fundraising Serves Four Strategic Functions

Posted on July 21, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Email is cheaper than direct mail but that’s not why you should embrace it.

Your non-profit organization should be communicating with donors and members by email for four strategic reasons. Continue reading →

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Donation Request Letters Need Strong Protagonists

Posted on July 15, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Do your donation request letters lack a protagonist? The most compelling appeal letters feature a man or a woman, a boy or a girl, that captures the donor’s attention and makes the appeal human, moving and profitable. Continue reading →

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Write Better Fundraising Letters by Making a Scene

Posted on July 7, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Successful fundraising letters are exciting to read. They take you to crack houses, battlefields, logging protests, prisons, floods and other places you will never set foot yourself. Effective donation request letters show you the organizations you support engaged on the front lines in the battle to right wrongs, correct injustices and make the world a better place. They put you in the thick of the action. And they usually do this by making a scene. Continue reading →

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Your Donors Deserve Pity (In Your Fundraising Letters)

Posted on June 30, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. This was his cry: Continue reading →

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Do Your Donors Hear Voices (in Your Donation Request Letters)?

Posted on June 23, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Fundraising letters are about people. People talk. So your fundraising letters should include the voices of people. Continue reading →

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Enter Shooting to Make Your Donation Request Letters Irresistible

Posted on June 16, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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 →

Posted in Envelopes | Leave a comment

Donation Request Letters Need Suspense To Keep Donor Attention.

Posted on June 9, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

How would your next fundraising letter perform if Agatha Christie wrote it? Continue reading →

Posted in Strategy | Leave a comment

Successful Fundraising Letters Give Your Donors Conflict.

Posted on June 2, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Your fundraising letters will be more dramatic if you write them like a novel. Continue reading →

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Free Sample Donation Thank-You Letter for Fundraising Gift or Contribution.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Donation thank-you letters | Leave a comment

Donation Thank-You Letters, Cards And Notes Should Never Ask For A Gift.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

The most important letter in direct mail fundraising never asks for a gift. Ever. Continue reading →

Posted in Donation thank-you letters | Leave a comment

Donation Thank-You Letter Mistakes To Avoid In Direct Mail Fundraising.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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 vital truth in direct mail fundraising: How you thank your donors and how your donors hear you thank them can be two different things. Continue reading →

Posted in Donation thank-you letters | Leave a comment

How to Write a Donation Thank-you Letter.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Donation thank-you letters | Leave a comment

Improve Your Donation Thank-You Letters, Cards and Notes: Make Your Donor The Hero.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Donation thank-you letters | Leave a comment

Send Donation Thank-You Letters, Cards and Notes Quickly.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Donation thank-you letters | Leave a comment

Write Novel Fundraising Letters Using Fiction Techniques.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

What would happen if the author of The Da Vinci Code wrote your next direct mail fundraising appeal letter? Continue reading →

Posted in Strategy | Leave a comment

Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Ask Anyone For A Direct Mail Donation.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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 almost fainted. Continue reading →

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Fundraising Letter Response Rates: Boost Them (And Your Revenue) By Watching Nine Vital Statistics.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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 of communication is text messaging? Continue reading →

Posted in Response, Results, Testing | Leave a comment

Direct Mail Fundraising Arithmetic: Avoid Blunders By Knowing Your Numbers.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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 to the receptionist, including the development staff, thought this banquet was the organization’s most successful fundraiser. Continue reading →

Posted in Response, Results | Leave a comment

Year-End Fundraising Letter Appeals: 7 Tips to Give Them a Boost.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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.” Continue reading →

Posted in Donor renewal | Leave a comment

First-Time Direct Mail Donors: How To W-I-N Them Over As Repeat Givers.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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.” Continue reading →

Posted in Donor renewal | Leave a comment

Premiums in Request Letters Asking for Donations: Examples and Samples of Pros and Cons.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Premiums | Leave a comment

Donor Newsletters Boost Direct Mail Donations Without Asking For Donations.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Donor-Centered Newsletter Stories Increase Income, Boost Donor Loyalty.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Your donors read your donor newsletter to discover news about themselves. You are of secondary interest. Continue reading →

Posted in Newsletters, donor | Leave a comment

Increase Average Fundraising Gift By Segmenting Your Donor List.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Asks, Lists, Response, Testing | Leave a comment

Fundraising Mailing Lists: How List Brokers Can Help Your Appeal.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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 for your mailing is complicated and best left to an experienced list broker. Continue reading →

Posted in Lists | Leave a comment

How To Create Irresistible Fundraising Letter Envelopes.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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 ways to tease your donors into opening your envelopes. Continue reading →

Posted in Envelopes | Leave a comment

How to Write a Fundraising Letter (4 Tips).

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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? Continue reading →

Posted in Fundraising letters | Leave a comment

How to Increase the Size of Donor Gifts with Fundraising Letters.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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 the size of donor gifts using fundraising letters. Continue reading →

Posted in Asks | Leave a comment

Your Fundraising Appeal Letters Need a Villain.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Asks, Strategy | Leave a comment

Fundraising Letter Appeals: Where to Look for New Donors.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Have you ever studied your best donors and wished you could clone them all? Maybe you can, with a bit of creative thinking. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition | Leave a comment

Need New Direct Mail Donors? Look For These Three Qualities For Fundraising Letter Success.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition | Leave a comment

Acquisition Fundraising Letters Should Raise Donors, Not Donations

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

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. Continue reading →

Posted in Donor acquisition | Leave a comment

Your Not-For-Profit Fundraising Letter Program Has Three Goals.

Posted on June 1, 2006 by Alan Sharpe

Your direct mail fundraising program should have three goals. Continue reading →

Posted in Strategy | Leave a comment

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