Fundraising letter templates are a mistake. They
insult donors. They mislead fundraisers. And they
don't work. You cannot generate sustainable income,
build relationships and retain loyal donors by mailing
fill-in-the-blanks letters. Here are some sound
reasons for avoiding boilerplate appeals.
1. They are, by definition, too generic
On the website of one fundraising coach is a "very
general donation request letter" that you are
encouraged to customize by filling in "the details that
are specific to your organization." The problem with
this approach is that non-profit organizations are
radically different.
What, for example, does Mothers Against Drunk
Driving have in common with the Boy Scouts of
America? What common goals does the Sydney
Opera House share with The National Rifle
Association? Could you take one "very general
donation request letter" and customize it to meet the
unique needs, case for support, brand image, voice
and personality of each of these organizations? I
think that idea is [fill in the blank]
___________________.
2. They miss the main goal of fundraising
letters
The goal of every appeal letter you mail is not to
raise a gift but to retain a giver. You are after the
donor first, their donation second. The most
important gift in fundraising is not the first, but the
second. You can twist a gift out of just about
anyone, once. But getting subsequent gifts is where
your challenge lies. And where you demonstrate your
expertise. The big failing with fundraising letter
templates is that they are after money only. Donors
sense that attitude when they read the letter
(assuming they do).
3. They treat donors as purses, not people
The only way I know of to get money without human
contact is to use an automated banking machine.
Bank tellers are personal. Automated banking
machines are impersonal. Just walk into your local
bank any morning and count the number of senior
citizens waiting in line for a teller. They choose the
human being over the machine because senior
citizens are often lonely. They crave human contact.
When you approach donors with generic, impersonal,
copy-and-paste fundraising letter templates, you
treat them as automated banking machines who
should simply do as they are told and cough up the
cash without delay. And who likes being treated that
way? Not [pick one] me/you/us.
4. They mislead sincere fundraisers
The biggest problem that I have with fundraising
letter templates is that they fool some fundraising
staff into thinking that raising funds by mail is easy.
All you need to do is "copy and paste the following
text into your word processing program," "fill in the
details that are specific to your organization," "print
out the letters on your organization's letterhead,"
and conclude your letter thus: "Today, you can make
an immediate difference in the life of
[homeless/orphans/etc.] Each [$ amount] you send
provides [specific goods/services] to [number of
people]." Then you recline your office chair and wait
for the mailbags of donations to arrive from your
fervent donors.
Conclusion
Direct mail fundraising, like all fundraising, is about
relationships, not revenue. And you can't develop
relationships built on trust and mutual respect if your
fundraising methods are standard, impersonal and
disrespectful. There are no short-cuts to long-term
donor loyalty, despite what some publishers of
fundraising letter templates imply.
New Handbook shows you a better way
The best way I know of to learn the craft of
creating, writing and designing successful fundraising
letters is not to fill in the blanks but to fill your head
with examples of excellent letters that worked. Study
successful direct mail appeals. Analyze why they
worked. Put what you learn into practice.
Anatomy of a Profitable Fundraising Letter,
the fourth Handbook in the Hands-On Fundraising Series,
features a line-by-line analysis of a successful direct
mail fundraising package that Habitat for Humanity
mailed to prospective donors. If you use the mail to
raise funds, this handbook will help you discover
what to do right--and what to avoid. Learn more about this new Handbook at www.RaiserSharpe.com
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About the author
Alan Sharpe is a professional fundraising letter writer, instructor and mentor who helps non-profit organizations raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using creative fundraising letters. Learn more about this new Handbook at www.RaiserSharpe.com
