Steven Screen, Author at The Better Fundraising Company

Start Today for a Successful Fall Newsletter

Steven Screen | June 23, 2017July 5, 2017Report

Want to make your fall newsletter easier than ever?

Start today. And here’s how getting started now will make your life easier and help you raise more money . . .

Pick what issue or program your newsletter will focus on.

In our experience, newsletters that focus on one program or activity do better than newsletters that feature stories about multiple different things.

Find three stories with clear “before’s” and clear “after’s.”

Stories can be hard to find, so start looking now. If you get stories through the people who work directly with your beneficiaries, ask those folks for stories today. Take it from someone who’s probably done this a hundred times: they like this part of their job MUCH better if you ask them early, are specific about what you want, and give them plenty of time with a clear deadline.

Write the stories now…

…even though you don’t need them for a couple of months.

I guarantee you that if you write them now, then come back to them in a month or two, you’ll see ways to improve each story. This is especially true for headlines and picture captions.

By the way, be sure to include the donor in each story. So use the word “you” at least once in every single story – and try to get it into every headline.

Knowing which stories you’re going to tell gives you lots of time to get great photos of each person. Get a close up photo of each story subject – by themselves, not in a group. The guideline I was always taught; “be close enough to see their eyes and teeth.”

Have the last story of your newsletter be a request to send in a gift today.

Make sure the reader knows that their gift will help people in the same way that they saw the people in the stories being helped.

Finally, design your newsletter to be sent in an envelope, not as a self mailer.

We’ve done multiple tests and self-mailers raise less money — we don’t even do them any more. So you’ll need an envelope, your newsletter, a reply card, and a reply envelope. Doing it this way will cost you more money, but you’ll raise more than enough additional money to cover the extra costs — and then some!

Five Tips for the First Sentence of Your Next Appeal Letter

Steven Screen | June 21, 2017June 21, 2017Ask

The first sentence of your next appeal letter is really important.

Most readers will use it to decide whether to keep reading . . . or start thinking about whether to recycle or delete your message.

So yeah, it’s important. We’ve written hundreds of appeals and e-appeals over the years, and studied the results. Here are five tips to make your first sentence GREAT:

1. Short and Sweet

Your first sentence should be short and easy to understand. If your first sentence is long, complex, has lots of commas and clauses, and maybe a statistic or two, would you want to keep wading through? Remember, your reader is using it to decide whether to keep reading . . . or not.

2. Drama, Drama, Drama

Fill it with drama or make it interesting to your donor. Drama and tension are two of the best tools you have for engaging their interest. Or make it something that would be interesting to your donor – which is likely something different than would be interesting to you!

The worst example of this I ever saw was a first sentence that said, “Recently we hosted a staff leadership seminar.” Ouch.

3. What’s The Point?

One of the best first sentences is, “I’m writing to you today because . . .” That sentence forces you to get right to the point – which donors really appreciate. You want to know why so few donors actually read fundraising letters? It’s because they know how long it takes most nonprofits to get to the point! So if you and your organization get to the point quickly, your donor will be far more likely to read more.

4. Who Cares?

Another great tactic is to make the first sentence about the donor. Think “I know you care about Koala bears” or “You are one of our most generous donors, so I think you’ll want to know . . .” Listen, most of the other organizations she donates to wax poetic about totally unrelated things or about how great they are. When you write her and talk about her, she’ll love it!

5. Less is More

After you’ve written the first draft of your appeal, you can often delete your first couple of sentences or paragraphs. This happens to me all the time in my own writing, and in appeal letters that I edit for clients. In the first draft, the first couple sentences or paragraphs are often just warmup. They can be deleted and your letter will be stronger because now it gets right to the point.

So next time you’re writing, pay special attention to your first setence. Keep it short and easy to read. Fill it with drama if you can. And when more people read your writing, more people will donate!

Fundraising’s “Virtuous Circle”

Steven Screen | June 14, 2017June 21, 2017Ask, Repeat, Report, Thank

I had the privilege of teaching at the South Sound AFP chapter a few nights ago. The group was made up of young professionals, several of whom had been fundraising for less than 6 months.

We walked through fundraising’s Virtuous Circle. A “virtuous circle” is a chain of events that reinforces itself through a feedback loop. Here’s what it looks like in fundraising:

Asking donors to solve a problem with their gift,
Thanking them promptly and emotionally,
Reporting back to them on how their gift made a difference.

Doing those three things well, one at a time, and in the correct order causes donors to trust your organization. This makes it more likely they’ll give to your next appeal, and stay donors for years and years.

I asked the group how many of their organizations Reported back to donors. **Only one person raised their hand.** Only one organization in the whole room was completing the circle.

I’ll do a longer post about fundraising’s virtuous circle later, but for now let’s focus on the incredible opportunity this presents for you and your organization. If your donor is giving to (on average) 7 to 10 different charities – but your organization is the only one does a great job showing her what her gifts have done, what do you think will happen? Here’s the short list:

Your donors will stick with you for longer
Your newsletters will raise money
Your response rates to appeals will increase
Even event income goes up

I think every fundraiser needs to learn (or be reminded of) this fundamental part of fundraising. Letting your donors’ know what their gifts have done is both honoring and a huge opportunity to raise more money to do more good.

How To Avoid The Dreaded Summer Slump

Steven Screen | June 9, 2017June 8, 2017Ask, Major Donor Fundraising

Most organizations experience a “summer slump.” They raise less money in the summer because — let’s face it — donors are busy doing other things.

But your organization can avoid the slump, and can even turn it into a strength! There are three main steps, and here’s how . . .

Step 1: Do A Fiscal Year End Campaign

If your fiscal year ends on June 30th, do a Fiscal Year End campaign. We just recently posted how our clients have successfully done this — read that for the full details. But in a nutshell, run a campaign with a direct mail letter and a few emails asking your donors to give a gift before June 30th to “help [your organization] end your fiscal year strong.” I’ve been doing fundraising for over 20 years and I’m always surprised these campaigns work. But they always do!

Step 2: Develop A Summer Offer

Is there a reason your organization is busy during the summer or early fall? Or a reason your beneficiaries need special help during the summer? Or a reason you need funding during the summer? If so, ask your donors specifically to help with that reason.

For example, we do this for an organization that helps homeless moms and kids. Each year we run a “Back To School” campaign during the summer that asks donors to help provide school supplies, backpacks, clothes and shoes for the children in their programs. We’ve done it for 4 years and have raised more money each successive year.

Step 3: Ask Your Major Donors

You have many major donors who give annually and have flexibility for when they give their gift. Approach them, tell them about the summer slump and how helpful it would be to get their gift in the summer. I’m sure at least one will help you. And here’s a delightful little secret; I bet that donor will give you another gift at the end of the year!

That’s how to avoid your summer slump!

How To Raise Money at Fiscal Year End

Steven Screen | June 7, 2017June 7, 2017Ask

Does your organization’s fiscal year end on June 30th?

If so, you can be raising quite a bit of money at the end of June.

Each year about this time I have the same thought: “I can’t believe fundraising around fiscal year end works.” But it does. Every year.

Here’s why I think it works, and how our clients have had the most success at raising money . . .

Fiscal Year End fundraising works for two main reasons:

There’s a clear deadline. Deadlines are magic for raising money. They always increase the urgency, which makes more people take action:
People understand budgets. They know what it’s like to come up short at the end of the month. They know how hard it is to plan when you don’t know how much money is coming in. So your donors get it when you say, “Please help us end the fiscal year strong so that this good work continues . . .”

So here’s what to do:

Send out a Fiscal Year End appeal. Send it out as quickly as you can. It doesn’t really matter what it looks like, just be sure to make the June 30th deadline clear early and often.
The Ask is simple: ask your donor to send in a gift before the end of the fiscal year to help your organization end the year strong. Tell her she will ensure the organization keeps ‘(doing whatever you do) and starts your next year in a position to do a great job.
Send out three emails at the end of the month, on the 27th, 29th and 30th at about 10:00 AM. If you only want to send two emails, send them on the 28th and 30th.
Your emails should say the same thing as the letter.
If you can, have the home page of your website feature a large banner asking for fiscal year end gifts by June 30th. Put the banner up for the last week of the month.
Finally, if you can offer matching funds, do it. We’ve had GREAT success using matches to increase the amount of money raised during fiscal year end campaigns.

That’s it! Send out your letter as quickly as you can, and get ready to raise more money this June than you have in the past!

Two super-common errors that can kill your fundraising

Steven Screen | April 26, 2017June 10, 2020Podcast

There are two opposite impulses that almost all fundraisers fall prey to at some time or another. They are:

Educating donors
Abstraction

They are guaranteed response-crushers. And the temptation to do both are powerful.

With real-life examples, we’ll show you how to avoid both errors and keep your fundraising strong.

Click here to listen

The upsides and downsides of holiday-based fundraising

Steven Screen | April 12, 2017June 10, 2020Podcast

Some of the strongest fundraising is connected to specific holidays.

Some of the most ineffective fundraising is also connected to specific holidays.

The special edition podcast will show you how to put holidays to work for you. And when not to do it at all.

Click here to listen

Fundraising Training: Better Stories to Raise More Money

Steven Screen | April 7, 2017April 13, 2017News and Events

With Better Stories You Can Raise More Money

To raise more money you have to get donors excited about what their gifts can do. And the best way to do that is by telling better stories.

Fresh from presenting at the National Nonprofit Storytelling Conference, Shanon Doolittle, Jim Shapiro and Steven Screen want to share their fundraising storytelling secrets with you so that you can raise more money!

Right here in downtown Seattle, on the morning of May 3^rd, you can hear all three share their secrets for just $40.

You’ll learn:

How to tell stories that will delight your donors, deepen your relationships and raise more money
Tips and techniques to weave your donor into the story of your organization
What stories to tell at events, and how to tell them
The types of stories that work best in appeals (it’s not what you think) and the best stories for newsletters.
How communicating with major donors is a little different than everyone else – and why that matters so much

Shanon, Jim and Steven will make sure you have multiple ideas you can take back to the office and use that afternoon to raise more money. Shanon has an attitude of gratitude and is a nationally-recognized expert on running successful events. Jim is a major donor fundraising fanatic. Steven is a data-driven communication expert. Their advice is proven, and it’s effective.

The cost to see the three of them at the national conference is over $500. You can see them here for $40! Register today!

Details:

When: Wednesday, May 3, 2017; 9:00am – 12:00pm

Where: 415 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109

Parking: Street and garage parking nearby

Agenda:

9:00am – 9:15am: Networking & Coffee
9:315m – 11:45am: Presentations
11:45am – 12:00pm: Question & Answer

How to create great direct mail fundraising teasers

Steven Screen | March 29, 2017June 10, 2020Podcast

The most impactful element of any direct mail project is the teaser — what you put on the outer envelope.

We’ll share what works, what never works, and the surprising “most likely to succeed” approach.

We’ll also discuss email subject lines — a closely related topic with some strong similarities to direct mail teasers.

Click here to listen