TOP 10 WRITING TIPS FOR THE NON-PROFIT SECTOR  

It’s easy to sit down and write a fundraising letter, mail it out, and hope you get a good response with donations.  

However, if you want to achieve a financial goal through your letter campaign, you need to know ten important points to reach the full potential that your letter can have.

Tip #1:  Know Your Prospect

It is important to know exactly whom you are writing to and connect with that targeted audience.    Different people donate for different reasons.    For example, some people donate because they have a soft spot in their heart for saving animals’ lives.    Others may have lost a loved one to an incurable disease.    You need to know where they are coming from.

For the best results in making your goal financially, you need to find your prospect’s deepest core emotion.  What make this person tick-or ticked off for that matter?  What bothers that person the most?  What is it that will make this person open his or her checkbook and donate?

Tip #2:  Tell A Story To Draw Your Prospect Into Your Letter

The best way to draw the attention of the reader and make the reader continue reading your letter is to begin with a story…and an emotional one at that.    The story should be real and heart-hitting so as to make the prospect want to find out how he or she can personally fix the problem. 

People donate by emotion and the easiest way to draw emotion out of a person is by telling them a story that touches their heart.  

Tip #3:  Make The Prospect Feel He or She is Personally Responsible for Remedying the Situation

Everyone loves to do a good deed.  It’s a personal pride when you know you did something good for someone else.   People need to know that they are “heroes” for your organization.

Make them part of the solution to your “problem.”  Tell them exactly how they can do this. Let them know they are the one who will change something bad into something good.  They may not be able to fix the problem in person, but involving them in the solution with their donation makes them feel they are able to fix it.

Tip #4:  Create A Sense of Urgency

Tell the reader you need the money now.  Give him or her a good reason why you need the money immediately.  What is their dollar going to do to change the difficult situation you are in now?  

You don’t want the prospect to put your letter off to the side thinking “I’ll take care of it later.”…Maybe.

Tip #5:  Always Provide a Return Envelope for the Donation

This is a very important feature in your fundraising package.    We live in a “hurry-up” society.    People have less time on their hands than they did even only 10 years ago.

How often have you received a bill and there was no return envelope enclosed?  Did you pay the bill right away, or did you put it aside because you needed to get your own envelope to send your payment?  Did you have a spare envelope or did you have to go to the store and buy some?  

By this time, the prospect has either forgotten all about donating or decided he or she will donate another time when they have spare envelopes.  Having the convenience of the reply envelope helps the donor to send the check faster.

Convenience=Prosperity

Tip #6:  Always Follow-Up With a Thank You Letter

Have you ever sent a gift to someone-especially if it was a really nice gift-and you never received a thank you note for it?  You start asking yourself, “Did they like the gift?”  “Did they receive the gift?”  Or you think, how ungrateful of him to not say thank you!

Well, donors may not be wondering if you like the donation they sent, but if they received a thank you note from you it makes then feel special.  You took that extra step to show your appreciation for their gift no matter how large or small the gift was.  The donor will remember this, so that when you appeal to him or her again, chances are they will continue sending donations.

Tip #7:  Be Specific With What You Will Do With the Money

People want to know where their money is going.    Spell out exactly what their dollar is going to buy or provide.    This places the donor in the center of the situation knowing that their money is being used for the best.

Tip #8:  Always Write In the First Person

There is no more important word in the English language that the word “you.”    At least when it comes to writing fundraising letters.    You are making a personal appeal directly to that person.    Speak to the prospect as if he or she is your best friend in the whole world.    The more personal you are with your prospect, the greater the chance of reaching his or her core emotion. 

Tip #9:  Testimonials

You can’t have enough of them.    You need to prove your case.    The best way to show your prospect what a great job you do for your cause is with testimonials.

These are real people telling real results.  Testimonials are the backbone of your letter because they give credibility to your cause.

Tip #10:  Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For the Money

 Sometimes, people need to be told what to do.  Sometimes, people need to be told how much to give.  Tell them how much you want.  Tell them what amount will get you to your goal and that their specific donation will get you there that much faster.

It actually makes it easier for the donor to know how much to give.  Being indecisive can lead to a smaller amount received.

Keep these tips in mind the next time you create a fundraising package.  Using them effectively will increase your ability to receive a greater amount of donations.

Good luck and happy writing!