Category: Ask

How to Choose What to Underline and Why

Steven Screen  |  Ask
Underlining your letters.

I’m going to teach you to raise more money by showing you what to emphasize in your fundraising letters.

Because if you underline or bold the right things, you’ll raise more money.

NOTE: for brevity, I’m going to lump all forms of visual emphasis as “underlining.” You might use underlining, or bolding, or highlighting, doesn’t matter. All of those are different tactics. I’m talking about the strategy of visually emphasizing small portions of your letters and e-appeals.

First, let me tell you why your underlining is so important.

Underlining has two purposes in fundraising writing. Almost nobody knows the second – and more important – purpose.

  1. Bolding or underlining signals that a sentence is important. This is true of almost any writing.
  2. But underlining also serves a second, more important purpose. The most effective fundraisers use underlining to choose for your donor which things they are most likely to read.

Because remember, most of your donors won’t read your letter from top to bottom. They will scan your letter – briefly running their eyes down the page. And as they scan, when they see a sentence that has been emphasized, they are likely to stop scanning and read.

It’s this second, more valuable purpose that most organizations don’t know about. So they underline the wrong things.

My Rule of Thumb

Here’s what I try to do. This doesn’t apply to every letter, but I try this approach first on every single letter I review or write:

  • The first thing underlined should be a statement of need, or a statement describing the problem that the organization is working on.
  • The second thing is a brief explanation of how the donor’s gift will help meet the need or solve the problem mentioned in the first underlined section.
  • The third thing is a bold call-to-action for the donor to give a gift to meet the need / solve the problem today.

If you do that, I can basically guarantee that your letter will do well. A MASSIVE number of fundraising letters don’t even have those elements, let alone emphasize them. If you have them, and you emphasize them, here’s what happens:

  • Donors know immediately what you’re writing to them about
  • Donors know immediately what they can do to help
  • Donors know immediately that they are needed!

Because of those things your donors are more likely to read more. And more likely to donate more.

There Are Some Sub-Rules

  1. No pronouns. Remember that it’s very likely that a person reading the underlined sentence has not read the prior sentences. So if you underline a sentence like “They need it now!” the donor does not know who “they” are and what “it” is. The sentence is basically meaningless to the donor. Their time has been wasted.
  2. Not too many. You’ve seen this before; there are four sentences that are bolded, five that are underlined, and the result is a visual mess that only a Board member would read. Be disciplined. I try to emphasize only three things per page, sometimes four.
  3. Emphasize what donors care about, not what your Org cares about. If you find yourself emphasizing a sentence like, “Our programs are the most effective in the county!” … de-emphasize it. Though it matters a lot to you, no donor is scanning your letter looking to hear how good your organization is at its job. But donors are scanning for things they are interested in. So emphasize things like, “Because of matching funds, the impact of your gift doubles!” or “I know you care about unicorns, and the local herd is in real danger.”
  4. Drama is interesting. If your organization is in a dramatic situation, or the story in the letter has real drama, underline it. Here are a couple of examples from letters we’ve worked on recently: “It was at the moment she saw the ultrasound that life in her belly stopped being a problem and became a baby” and “The enclosed Emergency Funding Program card outlines the emergency fundraising plan I’ve come up with.”

And now, I have to share that I got the idea for this post when I saw this clip from the TV show “Friends”. It turns out that Joey has never known what using ‘air quotes’ means – and he’s using them wrong (to hilarious effect). I saw it and thought, “That’s like a lot of nonprofits trying to use underlining effectively.”

If you’re offended by that, please forgive me. I see hundreds of appeal letters and e-appeals a year. I developed a sense of humor as a defense mechanism. 🙂

The good news is that learning how to use underlining is as easy as learning to use air quotes!

You can do this. Just remember that most of your donors are moving fast. Underline only what they need to know. That’s an incredible gift to a compassionate, generous, busy donor!

And if you’d like to know how Better Fundraising can create your appeals and newsletters (with very effective underlining!) take a look here.

The Secrets of Successful Amateur Fundraising Writers

Steven Screen  |  Ask

Over the past few months, we trained two people on staff at Better Fundraising to write appeals and e-appeals.

“Fundraising writing” is not what either of these capable people was hired for. But we have a core belief that fundraising writing is a knowledge issue, not a talent issue.

And today, less than a year later, these two people are creating VERY successful appeals! The appeal letters and e-appeals they are writing for our clients are raising thousands of dollars more than the clients were able to raise themselves.

It’s such a joy to see these whippersnappers have such success, and help our clients raise more money to do more good!

So I asked them to share what they are thinking about when they write. They wrote down the tips and tricks that made them so successful, so quickly. I agree with every single one of them. Follow these tips and fundraising success will be yours!

  1. Write the letter (or email) as if it is from one person to one person.
    • You want your appeals to sound conversational, as if it is a letter from one person to another. Avoid use of the word “we” and avoid language that sounds like marketing.
  2. Start your letter with the sentence, “I’m writing to you today because…”
    • You may edit it out later, but that one sentence causes you to focus on and say why you’re writing them right away.
  3. Use the word “you” a lot.
  4. Mention “the offer” early and often.
    • The offer is the very short summary of why the donor’s gift is needed today, and what the gift will do.
  5. Tell a Story of Need that shows why the donor’s gift is needed today.
    • If you share a story of a beneficiary, don’t talk about the beneficiary’s situation after they were helped. Most nonprofits tell stories in their appeal letters of people they have already been helped. You want to leave donors with the feeling that they need help now. Steven calls this ‘telling an unfinished story.’
  6. Talk about how the donor’s gift will solve the problem / meet the need, not about how your organization will solve the problem / meet the need.
  7. Ask the donor very clearly to send in a gift today.
    • Donors appreciate the directness. And then you don’t sound like one of those nonprofits that are constantly “kind of” asking you for money, but they never just say it clearly.
  8. Write at a 6th or 7th grade reading level.
    • This has nothing to do with the intelligence of your donors, and everything to do with their ability to understand your writing quickly. Use hemingwayapp.com — we use it all the time.
  9. Include a P.S. that restates why the donor’s gift is needed, and what the donor’s gift will do.
  10. If you have a deadline, mention it often.
  11. The organization needs to get out of the way from between the donor and the beneficiaries.
    • We’ve been spending very little time talking about the organization that the letter is from. Instead, we talk about the people who need help or the problem that needs to be solved, and how the donor can help them and/or solve the problem.

It really is a joy to teach people how to raise more money!

If you’d like to go deeper than the list above, download our free e-book. Or if you’d like to work with us – we can coach you & your team how to fundraise more effectively, or even have us create your fundraising for you – take a look here.

For right now, be encouraged! You can be a better fundraising writer – and raise more money with your next letter or e-appeal – by following their advice above.

Appeal Letter Writing Tips

Steven Screen  |  Ask
20% can produce 80% of results

What follows is a short list of quick tips for writing your next appeal letter or e-appeal.

It’s a short list because exhaustive lists can to be … exhausting.

But what happens if you’re just trying to get a little better? What if you don’t want to reinvent your fundraising, but just to do this appeal better than the last appeal?

Then this list is for you.

Think of these as the 20% of tips that get 80% of results. The next time you write, do as many of these as you can. More of your donors will get your main message – and you’ll raise more money!

  1. Be able to summarize the problem that you’re writing about, and what the donor’s gift will do to fight that problem, in no more than two jargon-free sentences.
    • Your letter could be about the problem your organization is facing right now (e.g., ‘School is out, low-income kids won’t get enough to eat this summer…’) or the bigger/long-term problem your organization was created to help solve (e.g., ‘Our Jewish culture is dying out in our city…’)
  2. Say why you’re writing in the first two or three paragraphs.
    • The phrase “I’m writing to you today because…” is magic. Use it!
  3. Directly ask your donor to send in a gift somewhere in the first three paragraphs, and somewhere in the last three paragraphs.
  4. This often works perfectly with the “I’m writing to you today because…” phrase. High-performing letters often have couplets like this at the beginning of the letter:
    • “I’m writing to you today because many low-income kids are about to spend summer at home without enough to eat. Will you please send in a gift today to provide supplemental food for at least one child?”
  5. Remember that most donors aren’t reading your letter; they are scanning it. Two of the places they are most likely to actually read are the beginning and end of your letter. So put your main message in both places to increase the chance your main message will be seen.
  6. Avoid the dreaded Wall of Text – the long paragraphs and long sentences that make up a page full of words that run together. Instead, write in short sentences and short paragraphs.
  7. Use the word “you” a lot. I mean a LOT. Your donor should feel like the letter is to her, about something she cares about, and about what she can do about it. There should be at least twice as many uses of “you” as there are mentions of the letter writer and the organization.

Now, go get ‘em! Make your next appeal a little better than the one before. If you do that a few times in a row, you’ll be amazed by how much money you raise and how many more donors you retain!

There Needs to Be a Need

Steven Screen  |  Ask

If your organization has ever written the following sentences, this post is for you. These are all real sentences from real appeals and e-appeals.

  • “Will you please consider sending in a gift today?”
  • “Will you help us do more of this good work?”
  • “Please partner with us by…”
  • “Become a supporter and…”

Most nonprofits don’t realize they Ask this way

When I work with nonprofits who ask for donations using phrases like the ones above, I ask them about it. Specifically, I ask, “Why did you phrase it this way? Why did you not ask for a donation, but instead you asked for something else?”

They usually respond and say, “What do you mean? We asked for money!”

Then I walk them through their fundraising materials and say something like, “The words you used did not ask for money.” Using the four real-life examples above, the organizations asked their donors for:

  • Consideration
  • To help the organization
  • To partner with the organization
  • To support the organization

It’s astonishing how many appeal letters I review that don’t clearly ask the donor to send in a gift. (That’s doubly-astonishing when the one job of an appeal letter is to appeal for funds!)

Most Nonprofits write this way because they are scared about asking for money

Fundraisers – and often the Executive Director – are afraid that boldly asking for a gift will “turn people off” or “make us look desperate” or “make us look like we don’t manage money well.”

Let me be blunt: those fears are unfounded. When organizations make bold Asks to send in a gift today they raise more money and keep their donors for longer.

There’s a reason pro fundraisers write appeals that say things like, “Please, while you’re holding this letter, take out your checkbook and send in a gift today. You’ll love helping a person…” It’s because it works so much better.

More on this below, but most donors are moving fast. They aren’t taking the time to think about whether your organization is desperate, or whether you manage money well or not.

Most of your donors are just wondering if someone or some thing they care about is in danger, and if their help is needed. And if the donor’s help is needed, they assume you’ll ask them directly.

Because if you say things like “please support our mission…” or “will you please partner with us today…” – does that sound like there’s an urgent need and that the donor’s gift will address it? No. It doesn’t. Sounds like things are probably going just fine. And when things sound like they are going fine, fewer donors give.

Donors Love Directness

Remember, most of your donors are looking at your fundraising appeals while they are doing other things; getting ready for dinner, processing their mail, etc. They are moving FAST, and they usually only give your letter or email a few seconds of attention.

Note: this can absolutely be different when you are talking to your Board, or some major donors who have deep relationships with your organization. But usually those people make up less than 5% of the people who will be reading (whoops, I mean scanning) your fundraising materials. This is why you should either be a) writing to the 95% instead of to the 5%, or b) segmenting your mailings.

Ask any pro fundraiser who has a lot of experience with fundraising to thousands and millions of people at a time: your ability to make it easy for your reader to know exactly what you want them to do, and know what their gift will do, is incredibly important.

You tend to get more of what you ask for. If you ask for ‘consideration,’ you’ll get more of it. If you ask for ‘support,’ you’ll get more of it (but who knows what their support will look like). And if you ask for a gift today, you’ll get more gifts today.

Don’t Accidentally Hide The Need

By not asking boldly and directly, many nonprofits accidentally hide the need from their donors.

Their donors continue to get letters and emails that never directly ask for money. After a while, the donors think that the organization must not need the money that much!

True story: after Better Fundraising starts working with organizations, many of them receive the following comment with the first big influx of gifts: “I had no idea you needed more money and that more people needed help. I’m happy to help!!” Their note is usually accompanied by a larger than normal gift.

That’s because there’s some other nonprofit that’s currently asking your donors for gifts. It’s happening in the mailbox of your donors today. So I urge you to Ask with boldness and directness for your donors to send you gifts! You’ll raise more money, you’ll present a truer picture of the need your organization exists to meet, and your donors will love your clarity and directness!

For Small Nonprofits: You’ve Sent Your Year-End Letter, Now What?

Steven Screen  |  Ask

This post is for small nonprofits.

If you already have multiple emails set up for the final days of the year, great. Move along. Go have eggnog with a major donor or something!

Keep reading if:

  • You haven’t finished your emails yet
  • You’re not sure you could/should send an email, or (gasp!) send more than one
  • You’re not sure if your current plan for the next two weeks raises as much as you need

Here’s the big idea

This graph shows what happens to online giving, by day, in December:

This is why you should send multiple emails at the end of the year.

Think of it this way: your donors are going to be giving during those days. It’s up to you whether they give to your organization or to the other organizations they support.

But they aren’t going to give to you unless you a) get their attention, and b) ask them to give. That’s what your emails at the end of the year are for.

When To Send Your Emails

We recommend a minimum of 3 emails:

  1. Friday the 29th
  2. Saturday the 30th
  3. Sunday the 31st

If you can add another, send two on the 31st. If you can add yet another, send one on the 28th.

The more you send, the more money you’ll raise. It’s up to you.

Is there a limit to how many emails you can send? Of course. But most small nonprofits are so far away from reaching that limit that they can’t even see it. If you sent one last year, send two this year. If you sent two last year, send three this year.

Are you at a small nonprofit that is VERY concerned about sending more emails? Do you, or someone in your organization, fear that if you send even two emails at the end of the year you will:

  1. Cause “donor fatigue”
  2. Get lots of complaints
  3. Donors will stop giving

Please know that those things will not happen. I’ve sent over 500 year-end emails in the last few years, tracked the responses and tracked the complaints. Small nonprofits do not need to worry about this. And if there is a specific someone who should not get them, just take them off the list. But don’t miss out on all the extra giving that happens during the spike you see above — and don’t rob all those donors of the joy of giving — just because one or two people don’t think you should send out more than one email.

What Your Emails Should Say

In a nutshell, here’s what your emails should say:

  • Tell your reader there’s only a little time left before the end of the year.
  • Ask her to give a gift before midnight on the 31st
  • Tell her that her gift will help your organization end the year on strong financial footing
  • Tell her that what you’re planning to do next year won’t happen without the support of her and generous people like her.
  • Ask her to give a gift before midnight on the 31st. (I put this in the list twice because it should be in your email at least twice. The most effective fundraising is repetitive because almost no one reads the whole thing.)

It really is that simple. Think of it like an old-timey telegram: short sentences, short paragraphs, very few extra words. Just get to the point and repeat the point.

Remember, you’re not convincing anyone to give, you’re reminding them that their gift to your organization is needed and makes a big difference.

If Your Org Is Small And Needs To Raise More

The very best thing to do during the last few days of the year (assuming you have an email list) is to send multiple emails to your donors.

The next best thing to do is to buy our Year-end Digital Toolkit. Normally about $150, it’s on sale for just $89. You’ll get proven successful example emails that you can mimic. You’ll save a ton of time, and you’ll love the confidence of knowing you’re following a proven strategy. Just one extra gift pays for the toolkit – and it’s going to pay for itself MANY times over.

You Are The Sacred Connector

YOU are the connection between your donors and your beneficiaries! That’s both a privilege and a responsibility. The privilege is the joy you get raising money and making the world a better place. The responsibility is to make sure your donors know that their gift is needed and their gift makes a difference.

There is no better time of year to do that than right now. It’s the easiest time of the year to raise more money!

What A Cardboard Cut-Out Taught Me About Fundraising

Steven Screen  |  Ask

My first job out of college had a weird feature. When you walked in the door, the first thing you saw was a life-sized cutout of a 70-year-old woman who looked like Barbara Bush.

Her name was Mrs. Johnson

Mrs. Johnson had white hair, a blue sweater set, and pearls.

The company was a fundraising agency that helped nonprofits all over the country raise money. And we were instructed to write every single fundraising appeal as if we were writing to Mrs. Johnson.

This was my first job out of college. I was 22. And writing fundraising letters to Mrs. Johnson seemed really weird. After all, she wasn’t going to change the world! She looked like a grandma. It was my young friends and I who were going to change the world!

A Lesson In Demographics

Mrs. Johnson was in our office because the founder of that fundraising agency knew a couple powerful things:

  1. First, he knew his demographics: the average donor in the United States was a 69-year-old female. (Which is still true today, by the way.) And a 69-year-old woman was far more likely to give gifts, and give for longer, than me and my 22-year-old friends.
  2. Second, he knew that us copywriters tended to make a couple common mistakes. We’d write fundraising letters as if we were writing to all the donors at once, and we’d talk about the things that we cared about, that we thought were most important.

So, our founder had us write every letter as if we were writing it to Mrs. Johnson. Having her life-sized figure in the office was a powerful way to get us to think about who we were writing to.

We also learned a powerful lesson: an organization can really like a fundraising letter – but if Mrs. Johnson doesn’t like the letter, the letter will be a failure.

I share this today because most nonprofits make the same mistakes that us yahoo copywriters made back then. Organizations often write letters and emails that they like. They write a certain way to impress themselves and please the staff or board. They use insider jargon and describe processes that only people in their niche care about.

All of which causes them to raise less money. Because, as a rule, Mrs. Johnson doesn’t care about any of that stuff.

First, Figure Out Your Mrs. Johnson

It might be a Ms. Rodriguez. It might be a Mr. Patterson. It might be Mrs. Johnson. The important thing is to figure out who she is for your organization, and then write to her about the things that matter to her. Talk about your organization, without jargon, in a way that she can understand.

And if you’re guessing who your Mrs. Johnson is, don’t guess. Find out. It costs so little to find out. Do donor surveys. Do donor interviews. Do whatever you need to do to figure out who your supporters are. Please. Don’t. Make. Assumptions.

For instance, your donors are almost certainly older than you are. Every client I’ve worked with that had an age overlay done on their donors was shocked to discover how old their donors were.

One organization swore up-and-down that their average donor would be in their 50’s. Their average donor was 73.

It’s possible your Mrs. Johnson is different. For organizations that have a ton of child sponsors as donor, Mrs. Johnson tends to be about 49 years old, not 69 years old.

For organizations that are super youth-oriented, Mrs. Johnson might even be 35 years old on average. And she might be a Mr. It doesn’t matter. The thing is to figure out who it is for your organization, how old they are, and then write to them about what they care about.

Communicate To Her, About What She Cares About

You’re getting a handle on who your Mrs. Johnson is. You know she almost certainly knows less about your organization and your cause than you do. And that she has different interests and values than you do.

Now we’re getting somewhere!

You see, too many nonprofits look at their fundraising as their chance to communicate what is so special about their organization. But smart nonprofits look at their fundraising as a chance to communicate something of interest to Mrs. Johnson and people like her.

Don’t write about your organization. Don’t write about what your organization cares about. Instead, look for points of alignment between what your organization cares about and what your Mrs. Johnson cares about, and write about those things.

For instance, I used to serve an organization that helped disadvantaged women get an education, graduate from college, and get a job. The organization thought of itself as ‘giving a hand up, not a hand out’ and often asked their donors to “send in a gift today to help a local woman with a hand up, not a hand out.” Jim and I thought that this organization’s donors — their Mrs. Johnsons — cared more about providing an education than they did providing ‘a hand up.’ So we convinced the organization to instead talk about college credits, and to ask their donors to ‘send in a gift today help help a woman get one college credit closer to a job.’ Worked like crazy.

That’s a good example of focusing your donor communications on how your donors think about an issue, not how the organization thinks about an issue.

So figure out what your Mrs. Johnson cares about. Figure out what words and phrases she uses to describe those things. Then talk to her about what her gift to you will do using those ideas, words and phrases!

Just A Reminder, She’s Probably Older

One thing that hasn’t changed since I was a young fundraiser: the average donor in the U.S. is about a 69-year-old female. And she’s the type of donor who will stay with you longest and give you the most over time.

She probably isn’t on social media. She probably checks email occasionally, but doesn’t trust it because it’s so hard to tell what spam is. She might be on Facebook. But she absolutely has a mailbox and reads her snail mail more than you and I do.

So that tells you the media channels that you want to use if you want to reach her effectively. . .

All That From A Cut-Out?

Amazing. All of this epic long post from a cardboard cut-out that I first met in 1993. But it’s a lesson that stuck with me as long as I’ve been a fundraiser, and I think it’s made me a more effective fundraiser.

My hope is that it does the same for you. Figure out who your Mrs. Johnson is. Grab some stock photography with a picture that looks like her. Print it out, and stick it to your computer monitor. Every time you’re writing your fundraising, make sure you’re writing to her. About what she cares about. Using words she would use. Do that and you’re on your way to have a LOT of Mrs. Johnsons devoted to your cause — and sending you lots of money!

Last Chance! Raise More Money Online This Year

Steven Screen  |  Ask

What happens when you wait . . .

I get it. I’ve put things off until the last minute before.

What usually winds up happening is I tell myself, “Oh, I’ll remember to do that in time.”

But by the time I get to it, 9 times out of 10, I miss out.

Don’t let that be you.

Order your Year-End Digital Fundraising Toolkit now!

Because December 31 isn’t here yet. And there are lots of things you can do to raise the money you need before the 31st. Even in the next couple weeks!

If you’re ready for year-end, you can skip this. If you’re not ready, we get it. We’ve been there.

Don’t panic. You can do five things today for more revenue by year-end.

1. Use an interrupter

Make it so easy for your donors to give you a gift online that they can’t miss it (or get distracted by other options). Use some sort of interrupter like a splash page, homepage overlay, or just a big, bold donation button that goes straight to your donation page.

2. Make messaging simple and urgent

Tell your donors you need to raise $X by Dec 31. Let them know if you have a match or a shortfall. Tell them they have X days to do it. Believe it or not, that’s all they need to know. Remind, don’t persuade.

3. Skip the details

This isn’t the time to tell stories, share photos, or offer details about your programs. Trust us. Get straight to the point and ask for a generous year-end gift.

4. Send three emails in the last few days of the month

You should send emails on December 29, 30 and 31. These can (should!) be versions of the same email that progressively get shorter and more urgent — eg. “This is your LAST CHANCE to give a gift this year!”

5. Test social media advertising

If you’ve never tried it, build some Facebook ads to run during the last week of the month. Use the same messaging as your emails — but shorter! Advertise them to a lookalike audience of people who like your Facebook page.

If you want a great cheat sheet to walk you through exactly what to do, remember — we’ve developed a Year-End Digital Fundraising Toolkit. It can be yours for just $149. Buy it now and this year-end will be your best year-end yet!

Order the Year-End Digital Fundraising Toolkit

You Have 1 Extra Week – How To Make The Most Of It

Steven Screen  |  Ask

There’s an extra week between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year, which is a big deal if you’re a fundraiser.

Your extra week means you have an extra week raise money during the strongest fundraising season of the year.

What Will You Do With Your One Wild, Precious Extra Week?

Just like how your fishing is more effective when the fish are running, your fundraising is more effective this time of year. It’s not that your fundraising materials are magically more effective, it’s that more donors are more likely to give gifts!

Because ‘the giving season’ is a week longer this year, you can expect to raise more money if you take advantage of your opportunity.

And this week, December 3rd through 9th, is your extra week. It may not feel like it, but it’s extra. It’s a gift. What are you going to do with it?

Here’s What To Do With Your Extra Week

Here’s a list to help you prioritize your time. These are organized roughly in order of importance:

  1. Contact any major donors who have not yet given a gift this year. This is the single most important thing, with the biggest financial impact, that you can spend time on. One gift from a major donor who missed your earlier communications can make or break your whole year-end campaign – not to mention the long-term relationship benefits.
    1. If at all possible, try to meet them in person. Next best is telephone. Next best is email.
    2. When you speak to them, be able to very quickly describe why their gift is needed before the 31st, and what their gift will do.
  2. Send another appeal letter. If most of your donors are local, you can send a letter out the week of the 11th, nonprofit postage, and still have it get in homes in time to drive donations before year-end. Make this letter a shorter version of your regular holiday letter, and mention the ‘December 31st deadline’ multiple times. In our experience, you’ll raise about 1/3 of the amount you raised with your regular holiday letter, and this is new, additional revenue!
  3. Prepare your 3 emails for the end of the year. Our Year-End Digital Fundraising Toolkit will show you how to do this well, and includes samples. Here’s the strategy; online giving sees a massive spike during the last three days of the year. During that spike, you want to remind donors that their gift is needed and their gift makes a difference. The best way to do that: have an email in their inbox each of the last 3 days of the year.
  4. Prepare your Thank You / Receipt letter for everyone who gives here at the end of the year. Do not use a generic thank you letter. You’ll build stronger relationships with your donor if the language in the letter reflects what the donor has just done. For instance, you could begin the letter by saying, “Thank you for giving such a generous gift at the end of the year! As I mentioned when I asked you, your gift is going to [insert what their gift is going to do, using the same phrasing you used in your appeals and emails].”

If you’ve already done all those things, fantastic! You’re on your way to a successful year-end fundraising season. Your donors and your organization are going to thank you for all your efforts and for the money you’ve raised.

Extra Credit

If you’ve completed everything you can, here’s how to earn “extra credit” and make sure 2018 starts off with a donor-loving, relationship-building bang:

  1. Plan your early 2018 Thank You email. We recommend an emotion-filled email, dripping with gratitude, to your donors on January 2nd (the first work day of the new year). Thank them for their gift in 2017, and for all the ways your beneficiaries were helped. No Asking, no Reporting, just Thanking.
    1. Ideally, this email would only go to donors who made a gift in 2017, not your whole email list.
  2. Get started on your donor newsletter. This is where you Report to your donors on what their last gift accomplished. Because so many of your donors will have given in November and December, it’s really powerful for them to receive a newsletter in January or February that tells them what their gift accomplished. Remember, most organizations don’t tell their donors what their gift accomplished. Getting good at “Reporting” to your donors is one of the best ways a small nonprofit can stand out, build loyal donors, and raise more money.

Good luck, use your extra week well, and visit our store if you need any samples to help you out!

Lessons from 25 Year-End Fundraising Seasons

Steven Screen  |  Ask
Lessons from 25 Year-End Fundraising Seasons

This year will be my 25th year-end fundraising season. (In related news, I have a lot of grey hair.)

That means I’ve been a part of about 250 separate year-end campaigns for different nonprofits around North America.

Let me share with you what I’ve learned. Because we do lots of testing, pay close attention to what works, and have a pretty good handle on what works the best.

But before I do, allow me a brief aside. The thing I’m personally most excited about this year is the four low-cost products we just released. They take complex year-end fundraising campaigns and break them down into simple, easy-to-follow steps. They are written and designed so that you’ll learn what to do, when to do it, and how to say it. I couldn’t be more proud.

Today, I want to share how to think about year-end fundraising. It’s a short set of ideas that put you on the path to happy donors and full bank accounts.

Idea #1 – Your donors love to give, but they are busy

Before you do anything, just think about this for a moment. Your donors love to give! Share this idea with your staff and board. If you want to have a great year, you must remember that your donors love to give, but they are busy!

Most nonprofits think two unhelpful things:

  1. Our fundraising makes people give gifts they don’t really want to give.
  2. Every donor receives every message we send.

Neither of those things are true. And if you think those two things, you will only communicate with your donors a couple times in December. That’s a HUGE mistake.

Instead, remember that your donors love to give, but they are busy. They need to be over-communicated with during this busy season. (And if there’s a donor or board member who has already given their year-end gift, by all means remove them from the mailing list!) But for everyone else, you need to communicate to them often enough to break through all the noise, get their attention, and remind them to give you a gift.

Idea #2 – Think of your year-end fundraising as a service

That’s right. Not as fundraising, but as a service to your busy donors who love to give.

You are reminding them to do something they would love to do.

So what makes a good reminder?

  • A clear focus on the action you want them to take. In all your communications (letters, emails, your website, social) get to the point very quickly. Ask them to give a special year-end gift before the end of the year.
  • A clear focus on the deadline. Remind donors, again and again, that their special year-end gift is needed before the end of the year. Deadlines are magic in fundraising, and this is the best deadline you’ll ever have. Mention it early and often!
  • Remind them what their gift does. This is NOT a reminder of what your organization does with their gift. For instance, if you’re an Arts organization, don’t remind them that their gift ‘supports our programs to promote the arts…” Instead, remind your donors that their gift ‘supports the arts so that our community has a thriving arts scene and culture.’

Idea #3 – The only other ideas to add are reasons to give now

Resist the urge to talk about your upcoming capital campaign, or tell a story about somebody you’ve already helped.

The only other ideas to add are reasons your donor should give a gift right now. Things like:

  • Their gift will be doubled by a matching grant
  • Your organization has a shortfall and you need to ‘close the gap’ as quickly as possible
  • You have a big need for funds early in 2018 and the donor’s gift will help

The Main Point

You can do these things and still write a warm, personal letter or email. Really, it’s a matter of focus. Make sure you communicate the main things in a way that donors who just briefly glance at your letter will still get the point.

So of course you can talk about how it’s been a good year. And you can thank your donor for their previous generosity. You can even talk about how pretty the snow is.

But those should not be the main, most noticeable parts of your letter. If you write and design you year-end fundraising following the principles above, you’ll raise a lot more money!