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The following is an excerpt from our new eBook, Storytelling for ACTION. If you enjoy this, download your free copy today.

“There’s an easy way to focus on your donor’s role, and a hard way. The best fundraisers do the easy way first, and then they do the hard way, too.

The Easy Way (do this first)

Use the word “you” a LOT. Use it early and often. This simple trick makes you include the donor in everything you say and write.

• 2-to-1 Ratio: We recommend at least a 2-to-1 ratio of “you’s” to “we’s.” That’s two of “you/you’re” for every one “we/us/our” and the name of your organization.
• Red Pen Test: Start with this classic test—circle all the “we/us/our” with red pen, and all the “you” with blue pen. You should see a LOT more blue than red.
• 10% Rule: Master fundraising copywriter Jeff Brooks says your goal should be to have 10% of all the words be the word “you.” It sounds crazy, but try it and then read it out loud. You sound like someone talking directly to another person that you care about—which is exactly what good fundraising sounds like.

If you do this, you’ll notice your donor will start to appear in your fundraising materials much more often. And if your donor sees herself in your communications, she’s more likely to give a gift.

The Hard Way (do this second)

Make the action you want your donor to take— the role you want her to play in the story—be specific, compelling, and powerful.

Think of it this way, when you tell the story of what your donor’s gift is going to do, get specific.

Examples of the specifics we’ve had great success with:

• provide one meal
• shelter for one night
• access to an art museum for one child
• curing one person
• one credit towards graduating from college
• help one teacher

It’s often hard for organizations to get specific about what a donor’s gift does. To your organization, the specifics seem less important than the whole of your programs or approach. And that’s true—from your point of view. You’re an expert!

But from the point of view of a donor— who doesn’t know nearly as much about program details as you do—the specifics are extraordinarily helpful.

That’s why in all our testing an action like “Be the difference for a refugee in need” doesn’t raise as much money as an action like “Provide medical care for a refugee for $7.”

If you’ve enjoyed this excerpt from Storytelling for Action, you can download the full eBook here.

Since your job as a fundraising professional is often hectic and overwhelming, I thought you would be encouraged by a recent talk I gave to the Shoreline Rotary Club about how to move yourself to positive action and outcomes.

My work at Better Fundraising has allowed me to be a high school football coach for the past 24 years. The members of this particular Rotary Club know me as “Coach Shap.”

The group brought me in to talk since they were looking for a little “team motivation” before they set out to fulfill summer work projects in the community. I organized my talk around the three different kinds of power each of us has in our lives that can motivate positive action and produce great personal and professional results.

Here is a summary of what I shared.

The power of choice

We make choices every day that impact the outcomes and results of our day. We can choose to get out of bed on time or to be early to the next scheduled business meeting. We can choose to be kind to our spouse after a mistake has been made around the house, or give grace to our kids after a poor choice was made. The power of choice truly can drive results, actions, and our ultimately shape our perspective on life. Let’s choose to be positive and encouraging to the people we care about the most.

The power of people

I believe we become whom we surround ourselves with. If we choose to hang out with people that are positive and make good choices, they will have a positive influence on us. If we choose to hang out with negative people or friends that make poor choices, we eventually will get caught up in their way of thinking or in negative circumstances. My hope for you is that you can surround yourself with people that build you up and encourage you to be the best you that you can be.

The power of self-talk

The last area that I believe can truly make a difference in your attitude and performance is the power of self-talk. We tend to be our hardest critic. Most of us walk though our daily lives replaying in our mind self-talk that is negative and hurtful: “I’m not smart enough, strong enough, sharp enough, professional enough,” and the list goes on. The best thing you can do today to turn your day around is to fill your self-talk with positive comments. Be like the childhood story of the little engine that could. If you think you, can you will. If you think you can’t, you wont. It is that simple.

I hope these thoughts encourage you to take on the day with fervor and energy. You truly can make it a great day; it just comes down to how you choose to live your life.

Now go out into the world and choose to make it a great day!