When was the last time you received a letter from someone
dear to you, addressing you as "Dear Friend?"
Never, right? The days of the Dear Friend letter are dead.
I heard recently of a chairman of the board of a national
charity who has given his charity millions of dollars and
hundreds of hours of his time, yet he still receives fundraising
appeals from this charity addressing him as "Dear Friend."
Ouch.
Arrest attention with an opening that resonates with
your donors.
Assume your reader is standing over a trash can with a stack
of today's mail, reading the opening sentence of each letter
before deciding its fate. You have only a few seconds to
grab the reader's interest. So make it a zinger. Here are
two openings for the same non-profit. Which one grabs your
attention and makes you want to read on?
Opening 1: "I am writing to you to ask if you
would like to support a low-income housing building project
in your neighbourhood."
Opening 2: "If I invited you to walk over to
your neighbour's house with a bundle of roof shingles under
your arm as a gift, what would you do?"
Put flesh and bones on your need.
One truth in fundraising is that people give to people to
help people. So always describe your need in terms of people,
not programs, not ministry, not money.
INSTEAD OF SAYING. We operate three vans. SAY. The three
vans that we use for emergency medical relief play a vital
role in saving lives throughout the year.
INSTEAD OF SAYING. Essential medicines in many countries
are not affordable. SAY. Phillip Mbago is dying from a treatable
disease for no other reason than this-he can't afford his
cure.
Ask for funds by painting a picture.
Don't just ask for a donation. Show your readers how their
donations will make a difference. Instead of saying, "Send
a gift today," say, "Your gift to Habitat for
Humanity today means that another family will soon move
into a simple, decent, affordable home-thanks to you."
b>Alan Sharpe</b> is a business-to-business direct
mail copywriter
who helps business owners and marketing managers generate
leads, close sales and retain customers using <a
href="http://www.sharpecopy.com"
target="_blank">creative direct mail
marketing</a>. Learn more about his services and sign
up for free weekly
tips like this at <a href="http://www.sharpecopy.com/newsletter"
target="_blank">www.sharpecopy.com/newsletter</a><br>
