I want to point out a story told by Steven Screen:
Steven wrote (and I creative-directed) a fundraising letter that won an award (I'm required to make that phrase bold). It also raised a lot of money. Looking back at the project, Steven noticed something interesting about the letter itself:
It didn't mention the name of the organization. Not even once.
Don't think donors couldn't tell who sent the letter. The organization's name and logo were all over the package, from the outer envelope to the reply coupon, and including the letterhead. It just wasn't in the text of the letter.
Why? Because the letter was about the donor. Not the organization. It was all about what the donor could do by sending her gift. Why she should do so. How doing so would change the world. How good it would feel to put her values to work.
Not: Look at our awesome programs. We are the greatest. Climb onto our bandwagon, because we are effective and wonderful.
Making it about the donor, not us, is the way to raise funds (and sometimes win awards).
So here's a challenge: Do what Steven did. Write an entire fundraising letter (or email) without saying the name of your organization at all.
You just might be amazed by the results.
(This post first appeared on June 10, 2015.)
from Future Fundraising Now http://bit.ly/2vcNOBW
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