Steier Tips

Getting Read: How to Set Your Fundraising Letters and Marketing Pieces Apart from the Pack

We all know the situation: It's late at night, your organization is in the middle of a very important fundraising effort, and you're at the brink of exhaustion after hours and hours of drafting what seems like hundreds of appeal letters—all saying the same thing. Perhaps it's time to step back, and subscribe to the age-old adage of "work smarter, not harder". Lets face it—no matter how brilliant, savvy, inspiring, or influential you might be, chances are it might not even get past the garbage can once delivered to your key prospects— most of whom are undoubtedly barraged by dozens of other organizations all asking for gifts. So when your fundraising mailer serves as your first introduction, you might be wise to consider the following:

1.   Be realistic   Keep in mind that, no matter how great the letter, for every one that gets opened and read, dozens more get tossed in the trash or simply lost in the shuffle. So without undermining the importance of a good fundraising mailer (as it might be your only funding strategy in some types of efforts), remember that it is only one act in an overall process. Should you feel that more time is being spent agonizing over the exact phrasing of a paragraph at the expense of properly preparing your campaign representatives, step back for a moment and re-prioritize.

2.   Gloom + Drama = Impact   If you are to stand any chance of persuading your prospect to fund your project versus all the other requests he/she receives over the course of a year, you had better revisit any type of literature that may have moved you, and take some hints. Any published author will tell you that they would have never even been given a shot if they simple wrote the who, what, why, where, and how's—and nor will you. Be mindful of excessive white space, incorporate bullet points with impact statements, and watch out for "wordy" sentences. By making just a few adjustments to add some color in your material, you too can be an effective writer— just maybe without a Pulitzer to show for it.

3.   Tricks and Treats   Many times, we already know what a letter will say before we even open it. How many times have you gone to your mailbox to find a letter or brochure as plain in purpose as the mail-merged return address that is stamped on the front? Instead, think like your donor. Raising money for a child-advocacy group? Consider a letter with an address penned by one of the youth it will serve. Do you have a large donor database with a limited mailing budget? Play with the size and shape of your otherwise typical communication pieces to stand apart, while also maybe saving money by using a smaller, more unique, piece. Remember, your letter is in essence competing for the attention of its reader with every other piece of mail delivered in a given day, and using a few tricks in your mailing approach could lead to more treats for the non-profit you serve.

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Other Steier Tips articles:

Ask Amounts
Creative Campaigning
Development Doldrums
Getting to Goal
Selling the Mission
Preparing for the Feasibility Study
Volunteer Involvement
Striking Out in a Campaign
New Year's Resolution
Preparing for Campaigns
Past Donors
Strategies for Success: Job Descriptions
Strategies for Success: Leadership Recruitment
Strategies for Success: Successful Donor Evaluations
Strategies for Success: Solicitation Training
Strategies for Success: Communications
Strategies for Success: Efficient and Effective Databases
Strategies for Success: Thanking Your Volunteers and Donors
Tax Provision a Great Benefit for Donors
"Challenge" Your Campaign
Hosted Events in Capital Campaigns
Are You Ready for a Capital Campaign?
Strategies for Success: The Tortoise and the Hare
The Importance of Personally Visiting Foundations
Make Summer Special
Post Campaign Strategy
Continuous Cultivation
Staying in Front of "Seasonal" Donors
Assessing Your Organization's Year-End Giving Program
Differences Between Development Audit and Capital Campaign
Identifying the Right Leaders
Campaign Communications
Assessing Your Organization's Campaign Readiness
Recruiting and Training Volunteers
The Magic Words
Donor Evaluation - Setting the Request Amount
Consistency in your Development Efforts
Keeping Your Donors Involved
Keeping the Excitement Alive
The Ask
The Importance of Hosted Events
Back to the Future
The Internet: Taking Advantage of the New Normal
The Importance of Recognizing Your Donors
Getting Off to a Good Start: The Importance of the Feasibility Study
Volunteer Training

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