Use These 3 Mental Tricks to Write Great Fundraising Letters
Too many fundraising letters sound like memos – impersonal, "From the Desk of the President.”
Would you donate to a desk, if it asked you?
Remember that making a donation is an emotional decision. It's personal, and that requires a personal appeal from you, the person the donor trusts to do good work.
So, use these three copywriter tricks to ensure your personal voice connects to your reader's emotions in your fundraising appeal.
Visualize the Person You're Writing To
You think you are writing to donors, but you are not. You’re writing to a donor. You’re writing to each donor individually. Don’t think about a group as you write – you’ll write impersonally. Imagine one specific, typical donor, and imagine you’re writing to her.
This will prompt you to write: “I need your help,” rather than “The museum needs your support.”
How many times did I use the word ‘you’ or ‘your’? (Hint: Once is not enough.)
“I know you want to help. Here’s how.”
“Join your classmates...”
“You made these scholarships possible...”
Make The Letter From Yourself–Not Your Organization
Don’t write a memo. Don’t use organization speak. Don’t confuse yourself with a corporation no matter how many staff members you have, how big your budget is, how impressive your title is. Read through your draft and ask yourself these questions:
Could I replace the word ‘we’ with ‘I’?
“I look forward to welcoming you as a member...,” not “We look forward...”
“I think you’ll agree...,” not “We think you’ll agree...”
“I knew you would want to know...,” not “We thought you would like to know...”
“We couldn’t have said it better ourselves...,” becomes “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Write Like You Are Speaking To Your Friend
This gives you a natural, direct voice and makes for the best fundraising letter. The power company, cable company or auto dealership is not writing a personal letter. That’s what makes you different. You are writing because you share a common passion: you’re friends; fellow missionaries; comrades in the struggle; sharers of the same values; joint builders of a better world, city, neighborhood, school.
Can I use the recipient’s name once in the body of the text?
“Gary, will you renew your membership today by returning the enclosed membership card?”
“Gary, your gift last year was so helpful!”
Not “Our donors were so generous,” but “You did it! You made it happen!”
Not “We hope you will want to offer us your absolutely essential support and that you will consider supporting the Annual Fund this year,” but “Gary, will you send a gift of $50 today? Here’s what we’ll do with it.”
You can learn more about writing great copy from classic texts by Robert Bly, Stephen Hitchcock Tom Ahern, and Mal Warwick.
Check out more tips on how to write a fundraising letter in these Five Maples blogs!
Still not sure you have the time or skills to write the best fundraising letter?
Our expert copywriters can help! Whether we write your letter from scratch or offer donor-centric tips for your copy with our editing service, Five Maples will make sure you speak to your donors the right way to help you raise more money.
Click here for more details, then contact us at garyh@fivemaples.com for a free consultation.