Fundraising Letters: Questions To Ask Yourself Before You Ask
Anyone For A Donation.
I have a brother-in-law who farms and drives a 16-wheeler for a
living. When I told him that I start each business day with a
blank computer screen that I must fill with at least 1,000 words
by noon, he almost fainted. He says he could never do it because
he wouldn't know where to start. But the same goes for me when
it comes to pulling the engine out of a John Deere 6020 Series
tractor.
My brother-in-law is correct, of course. You can't write an
effective fundraising letter unless you know where to start. The
most important part of any direct mail fundraising appeal is
what you do before you write a word of the package.
Poorly conceived appeals lead to poor results. Letters written
in haste usually waste money and hinder donations.
The secret to attracting new donors, renewing support, raising
funds, building relationships and retaining loyal donors with
direct mail is to ask yourself the tough questions before you
ask anyone for a donation. You need to know who you are writing
to, why you are writing them, and what you want them to do.
Here are some tips for increasing your chances of success by
answering the vital questions that leading fundraisers ask
before writing a single line of copy.
1. Who are you writing to?
Most of your donors share a common trait. What is it? Are they
all touched by heart disease in some way? Are they all veterans?
Are they all former students of your university? Are they all
theatre-goers?
Understanding your audience is the first step because who you
mail to is the single most important determinant of your
success. You can craft the most moving appeal letter of the
decade but your campaign will flop if you mail it to the wrong
people.
Here are some of the questions you should ask yourself to get a
better understanding of your donors--and how to appeal to them
in a relevant way that motivates them to give.
* What are they passionate about--what makes them furious?
* What is their affinity with your organization--strangers?
Regular donors? Major donors? Former donors? Volunteers? Clients?
* What types of appeals (emergency, renewal, acquisition,
year-end) generate the highest response and largest gifts with
this audience?
2. Why are you writing?
That sounds like a dumb question, right? You are writing because
you need money! That's a given. But as someone has so well said,
"Your donors do not give to you because you have a need. They
give to you because you meet a need."
This means you need to take your attention away from your
financial need and turn it to your cause. What crisis,
opportunity, current event, issue or need is causing you to
appeal for funds today? Focus on that and not on your need for
funds. Here are some other questions to ask at this stage:
* What is the goal of this appeal letter, exactly? Acquire new
donors or members? Get your current supporters or members to
renew their support or membership? Raise funds for a particular
project? Recover lapsed donors or members?
* What will you do with the money raised? Put it in your general
fund? Spend it on a designated project or program? Reduce your
deficit? Buy some capital equipment? Donors want to know.
* Why do you think donors will respond now? Have they responded
to similar appeals? Have they supported similar organizations?
3. What do you want your readers to do?
"We want them to mail a gift, the larger the better!" Not so
fast. Are you writing to business peers, inviting them to join
your organization as members? Or are you mailing to existing
donors, asking them to renew their support by mailing you a
gift? Or are you writing to major donors, inviting them to join
your giving club (President's Circle, for example)?
In each of these cases, the action you want your reader to take
will be different. So make sure you know what action your
readers must take before you start writing. Consider these other
questions:
* What other actions do you want your readers to take? (Request
information about planned giving? Sign and mail a petition to
their member of parliament? Complete and return a survey? Refer
a friend?)
* How much do you want them to give? What is the amount of money
that you want to receive from each person who receives your
letter?
* What is the minimum size of gift you need? What is the largest
gift that you can reasonably expect?
Some of these questions are easier to answer than the others,
depending on where you are in your annual giving program, the
age of your organization and the nature of your mission. But
asking them (along with the many other questions you must ask
yourself before committing money to a mailing) should reduce
your mailing costs, eliminate waste and increase your response
rates and levels of giving.