You’ve heard other development folks talk about “their” donors as though they have the donors’ undivided attention and may even possess their exclusive rights. (I won’t ask if you’re guilty as well.) Claiming donors leads to a slippery slope that encourages us to believe that those people with big hearts who send checks large and small are supporting our organization alone. Read More...
An amazing response rate of 113% came from an organization’s upper donors to an annual appeal we mailed recently. Their 135 top donors responded with 153 gifts! Gifts from this group totaled $265,000, meaning every letter mailed to this group returned $1,962. Read More...
If you watch “60 Minutes” and have followed subsequent news stories, you know that a nonprofit, the Central Asia Institute in Montana, has been served with a class action lawsuit alleging fraud, deceit and racketeering. The lawsuit alleges Greg Mortenson, the founder, fabricated details about his work building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan, defrauding donors as well as readers who bought his bestselling book “Three Cups of Tea,” the source of the inspiring stories that led to the founding of the nonprofit. “60 Minutes” aired claims that the stories were fabricated. Read More...
A thank you letter is an important part of a sound direct mail program. In addition to routinely and quickly acknowledging gifts, we also recommend a special thank you early in the year to new donors, thanking them for becoming part of the family in the previous year, with a different version to renewing donors reminding them of the good they did last year. Read More...
As economic troubles and high unemployment persist, donors will continue reviewing their expenses and discretionary spending, including their gifts to charity. To remain in their giving plans, you need to make sure they see your organization as worthy of their support. Read More...
It comes up from time to time — should we send this fundraising letter from both the Annual Fund Campaign Chair and the Development Director — or some other combination of people? The answer to that question is found in the answer to this question — have you ever received a personal letter from two or more people? A letter signed by more than one person looks like a communication from a committee. And hardly anyone reads communications from a committee. Read More...
As promised during my presentation to the Permian Basin Chapter of AFP today, here’s a PDF of Answers and Solutions to Your Direct Mail Questions. The PDF includes the PowerPoint presentation. Feel free to download it and look it over. Please post any comments you have on it right here on the blog. Read More...
If you think way, way back to the first letter you ever wrote as a child, you’ll probably recall how you started it. “How are you? I am fine.” That simple, traditional way of opening a letter was based on a fundamental principle of social discourse — putting “you” first and “I” second. Read More...
Your strategy in writing a fundraising letter should be single-minded. You want to guide a donor from Point A (an introduction) to Point B (the ask) as seamlessly and as convincingly as possible. When you erect a roadblock, you take your donor down a side street and may lose them along the way. A lost donor probably won’t send you a gift. Read More...
Your fundraising letter must sell itself right off the bat. The first thing a donor is going to do is scan it, and in an instant, they’ll decide whether your letter looks inviting to read…or whether you’ve made it look like a task they can easily put off — maybe forever. Read More...
I have over 30 years experience in fundraising and direct mail. I'm the President and manage the Fund Raising Division for Zachry Associates www.zachyinc.com. I am available for speaking arrangements.
