There’s really just one big secret to constructing a fundraising letter that brings home the bacon:
Focus your pitch on the donor, not on your organization.
People don’t give to nonprofits that are wonderful. They give to nonprofits that make them feel wonderful.
From that one big secret come six (interrelated) ways to make your potential donors feel wonderful.
1. Focus on the donor’s wants and needs. The best way to find out what donors want and need is to ask them. Pick up the phone and call a few donors to say thank you. Ask them why they gave. Then listen – and construct your appeal around what you hear.
2. Focus on universal needs. Some of the things donors want and need are the things every human being wants and needs. They want to feel good about themselves, to be appreciated, to belong. They want to feel that their lives have meaning. An appeal letter that doles out warm fuzzy feelings is almost guaranteed to bring in cash.
3. Tell stories. Statistics don’t generate warm fuzzies; stories do. It’s fine to say “One in three New Yorkers can’t read this sentence.” But then show some of those New Yorkers struggling to fill out a job application and puzzling over the papers their kids bring home from school. Show how your program changed their lives, how these people have earned their GEDs and gotten good jobs, “thanks to generous donors like you.”
4. Say thank you. Take a lesson from public radio and TV fund drive hosts. They say thank you over and over again during every pitch – even though most listeners or viewers have never made a donation. Your appeal letter, even the version for people who have never donated, needs to radiate gratitude.
5. Give different strokes to different folks. In particular, don’t treat your regular supporters like strangers. They don’t need to an explanation of your services. They do need to be thanked. They need to know that their contributions have made a difference, which is where the stories come in. Though there are many ways to segment your mailing list, the most basic is the distinction between recent donors and everyone else.
6. Get personal. I throw away fundraising letters that address me as “Dear Friend.” My name is on the envelope, for pity’s sake. You go a long way toward meeting donors’ universal needs simply by using their name – maybe even more than once. (Database issues? See the P.S. below.)
Make your donors feel wonderful, and you will get wonderful results.
If all this looks a little foreign – if you’re scratching your head thinking, “But where does the mission statement go?” – contact me. I’ll make you feel wonderful by giving you an appeal letter – or, better yet, a complete donor communication package – that actually brings in cash.
P.S. On database issues: If you’re like every smaller nonprofit I’ve worked with, you have trouble with #5 and #6 because your database isn’t in good shape. You can’t distinguish current donors from lapsed donors from non-donors. You figure (correctly) that it’s better to write “Dear Friend” than “Dear RCIHARD.”
I feel your pain. For the current appeal, redouble your efforts on #1-4. For the next appeal, consider investing the considerable resources it takes to clean up your database. I know, it hurts. But you’re leaving money on the table until you do.