FUNDRAISING
Fundraising Appeals: Think Before You Act
S
BY MARY CAHALANE
ISTOCK/ DEAGREEZ
o you’re ready to write a fundraising appeal. Now what? Before you even begin to write your appeal, there are some things you should think about. What’s the ONE thing you’ll ask a reader to do? Too often, we use a fundraising appeal as a catch-all for everything we want to tell people. This is an even more perilous problem if you don’t communicate often. Suddenly, there are All The Things you want to say! And so much you want people to do! But no matter how we try, we’re not really built for multitasking — or at least multi-tasking of this kind. If you want people to act, keep it clear and simple. Ask for one thing: an urgent gift, a monthly commitment, attendance at an event, consideration of a bequest. Keeping the focus on that one thing gives it the weight you want it to have. Who is the ONE person who will be writing the fundraising appeal? No communication from more than one person is really personal. (Unless, maybe, it’s your grandma and grandpa.) So pick someone. Preferably someone the donor knows — or thinks she knows. A sense of personal connection matters. You also want someone with importance. Maybe it’s someone telling their own story — who could be more important to that story? Or maybe it’s someone in your organization who has a strong public identity. Match the writer to the readers as much as possible.
16
FOUNDATION Magazine
March/April 2022
What is THE most important thing you want to say? This goes with the ask you choose, of course. But once you know what you’ll be asking for, hone your message so that you focus on the why of your ask. foundationmag.ca
