Author: Jim Shapiro

This is a follow-up to our last blog post.  Below you will see the other two elements of a successful direct appeal letter.

1. The letter now has an Ask in the first few paragraphs. Earlier versions didn’t have an ask until the top of the second page. And the eye-tracking studies show that the top half of the second page is the least-read sections of the letter. The earlier letter was effectively hiding the ask — and that’s no way to raise money!
2. Finally, the letter uses design to help the donor know the most important parts of the letter. The underlining and the call-outs highlight the Ask and the Need. Earlier versions highlighted the success and other information. We have to assume that most donors scan the letter. So we used underlining and call-outs to highlight the letter in it’s simplest form: there is a problem that needs to be solved, and the donor’s gift will solve it if they send in a gift today.

Now that you know the four elements of a a successful direct appeal letter, make sure you apply them to your appeals this next fiscal year.

We recently had the opportunity to help a Better Fundraising For All follower that works for a world relief organization.  The goal was to improve their fundraising direct appeal letter.  They tested our suggestions and since then have seen a dramatic increase in their direct appeal fundraising letter results.  There were four basic elements in the letter that we believe caused it to outperform previous letters.  Below you will see two of those elements.

1. The letter shared a story of Need, of someone who needs help. Earlier drafts shared a story that was a Success. We know from experience that when the story in an appeal letter is a story of success the letter will raise less money. Why? Because the most compelling part of the letter (the story) communicates to the donors that the problem has already been solved so the donor doesn’t need to send in a gift. The best letters present the donor with a Problem and then ask them to solve that problem with a gift.
2. The letter featured one story about one person. An earlier draft had two stories about two people. If at all possible the story in an appeal letter should only have one person.

Try implementing these simple, yet powerful elements in your next fundraising direct appeal.

A few days ago we helped a Better Fundraising For All friend improve her fall appeal letter.  Here is a summary of what we shared with her after reviewing the rough draft.

The best appeal letters present a compelling problem and ask the donor to solve it.  And that’s it.  When there are too many other messages in the letter competing for attention you will achieve lower response rates and lower average gift.  Successful appeal letters do only one thing and they ask for only one thing – a financial gift to help solve a problem.

In our response to this particular letter we also suggested using a larger font (don’t use small or script fonts), leverage the PS by restating the financial appeal, and using a pictures that shows the problem, not the solution.

What can we all learn from this review? Keep your letters simple and remember the purpose of the letter – to ask your donors to solve a problem by sending you a gift today!

We just finished teaching the Kickstart Your Fall Fundraising tele-class.  Over 140 nonprofit organizations from around the globe joined this conversation.  The highlights from this call included the following points.

• Create a fundraising rhythm for your donors to follow.  We use four simple words.  Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat.
• Know what your fundraising offer is.  A good offer identifies a problem, solution, the solution is a good value and urgency or timeline.
• Ask more often.  Ask for more.
• Thank donors who have recently given you a gift.
• Know that 80% of your revenue comes from 20% of your donors, so focus your energy on developing major donor relationships.

Keep your eyes on this blog for more clear thinking about fundraising.

Avoid The Summer Fundraising Slump!  We’ve studied and observed the patterns for how nonprofits successfully deal  with their summer slumps. There are three parts that all of them do and we can follow their lead in:

• What they do to avoid the slump
• How they ask their donors to help
• What they do with their major donors

Last month we taught a free tele-class on this topic to over 130 fundraising professionals. Click this link if you’d like a detailed copy of the call notes –  BFFA Call Notes – Avoid Your Summer Slump.   If you’d like to learn more clear thinking about fundraising on an ongoing basis, you can subscribe to updates by using the form on the right side of this page.

Friends of ours at Pacific Continental Bank recently released this white paper – – The Present State of Fundraising.  Click here to see the white paper.  Highlights from this paper include;

• A focus on donor relationships by using Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat
• Adaptability – evolve or dissolve
• Social media crowd funding
• Cash-flow management

For more clear thinking,  insights, information, and training content – subscribe to our insider emails by using the form found on the right side of this page and visit our class/training resource links by using the tabs at the top of the home page.

This past Tuesday, I had the opportunity to speak to a group of nonprofit leaders from Kitsap County, Washington.  Attached is the Power Point presentation I used.  (click this link to see the presentation – High Impact Major Gift Fundraising – Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat).

At Better Fundraising For All we believe in the work you do.  We also believe that nonprofit organizations are the greatest force for good in our country. The free and low cost resources we create and deliver are designed to help you fuel and grow your mission.

For deeper insights, information, and training content – subscribe to our insider emails by using the form found on the right side of this page and visit our class/training resource links by using the tabs at the top of the home page.

Keep up your good work!

Jim

We just finished teaching a four week series on how to achieve a fundraising breakthrough by applying Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat to your major gift fundraising efforts.

The training curriculum included videos, conference calls, and support documents.  The first video we sent the class was this one that outlines (in kinda of a funny way) how we typically communicate and treat our major donor friends. Check it out!  Major Gift Fundraising Introduction

We believe the mission focused work you do through your nonprofit organization is the greatest force for good in the world.  Because of this belief we have set out to develop resources that show you the best ways to raise money to fuel your mission growth. We deliver this clear fundraising thinking to you for free or at low cost through various resource from time to time.

If you’d like to receive more clear thinking about fundraising directly to your email inbox, become a subscriber by completing the information form on the right side of this page.  You will receive ‘insider information’ that only BFFA subscribers receive. We hope you will join the BFFA movement!  ====== sign up over here ======>>>

Did you know that 80% of your revenue comes from about 20% of your donors? Did you also know that about 85% of all fundraising revenue in the United States comes from individuals?

These numbers tell us that we should focus a majority of our fundraising energy on developing a major donor plan/system that works. If you don’t have an actionable Major Donor program you are literally leaving money on the table that you could be using to further your mission.

We’ve worked with hundreds of organizations who have raised millions of dollars from major donors.  The tips shared below are based on real-world results for what works and what doesn’t work when raising money through the mail.

• Have an offer that works!  Great offers state a problem that is easy to understand, a solution that is easy to understand, the cost of the solution seems like a good deal and there is urgency for the donor to respond.
• Get to know your donors.  Know their likes, dislikes and charitable interests.
• Ask the donor to do exactly what you want them to do.  “Please write a check today, to help solve this problem, by this date.”
• Ask for more money than you think you should ask for.  It’s not your job to downgrade the donors gift.  The donor will offer a lower amount if you ask for too much.

At the end of the day your focus should be on donor retention and lifting their giving from current levels to higher levels.  This improvement will happen if you follow a strategy like Ask, Thank, Report, Repeat and apply the clear thinking noted above.