Imagine this. As a smart fundraiser, you’ve put together a compelling appeal. It has an emotional story. A tangible offer. And direct asks in all the key places.
Then it goes through the approvals process. The committee thoroughly edits your carefully crafted appeal. The end result sounds like it came from a corporate machine. It’s no longer a warm, personal, emotional message from one person to another.
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Gets you thinking about the big picture in fundraising - Fundraising Coach
Find usable info on all aspects of fundraising - Fundraising & Philanthropy Australia
Gets you up to speed on fundraising in Australia. Lots of real campaign case studies - Future Fundraising Now
Rants that actually give you practical tips and actions - Kivi’s Non-Profit Blog
Commonsense resource on fundraising communications - Passionate Giving
Simplifies the art and science of major gifts - Sean Triner’s Blog
Big on donor data and what donors actually do - Showcase Of Fundraising Innovation & Inspiration
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Tag: copywriting
So many interesting things in this for fundraisers...
https://jasonlefkowitz.net/2014/01/against-line-chart-liberalism/
How often do we draw conflicting conclusions from donor data? Also, how often do we try to rely on data and facts (the head) rather than narratives and emotions (the heart and gut) to motivate donors to take action?
As Jason says in the article I linked to above, "assuming that data can tell its own story ignores something fundamental that we know about how communications between humans works. People aren’t motivated by facts; they are motivated by narratives, by stories."
Senior managers often hate the emotional narratives needed to inspire donations.
Also the line, "You have to reach out to people as they are, not as you would wish them to be." That's exactly my point in my post about emotions. You need to start with emotions the donor already has... not the emotions you want the donor to have.
I can’t tell you the number of times a new client feels uncomfortable with (or hates) my copy for a fundraising appeal… which then goes on to raise more money than they ever have before.
- PUBLISHED ON
Last week, I got an email from a client sending me a direct mail sample from another charity. She suggested we do something similar.
I opened up the sample… and did a facepalm.
It was not the most terrible piece of fundraising communications I’ve ever seen… but it broke all the rules of effective direct response.
And not in a good way.
The problem is the client thought it was good simply because their much bigger competitor did it.
- PUBLISHED ON
As a copywriter, I hate jargon!
Yet jargon crops up in fundraising appeals, direct mail, donor newsletters, websites… and just about anything else written for donors!
So I’ve decided to start a regular spot on my blog called June’s Jargon Watch. The aim will be to highlight these atrocities of the English language. And also suggest how they could be rewritten so the donor – and the average person – can actually understand them.
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Bonus! You’ll also receive a free in-depth case study on how a copywriting overhaul helped one charity quadruple its income for a key appeal.

CATEGORIES
- Branding
- Charity photos
- Charity stories
- Copywriting
- Data
- Design
- Direct mail
- Donor acquisition
- Donor behaviour
- Donor care
- Donor communications
- Donor retention
- Donor-centred language
- Donors
- Email fundraising
- Fundraising
- Fundraising appeals
- Fundraising costs
- Fundraising strategy
- Major gifts
- Multichannel fundraising
- Online fundraising
- Strategy
- Testing
- Uncategorized
Fave Fundraising Sites
- The Agitator
Gets you thinking about the big picture in fundraising - Fundraising Coach
Find usable info on all aspects of fundraising - Fundraising & Philanthropy Australia
Gets you up to speed on fundraising in Australia. Lots of real campaign case studies - Fundraising Success Magazine
Tips and techniques you can use right now in your fundraising - Future Fundraising Now
Rants that actually give you practical tips and actions - Kivi’s Non-Profit Blog
Commonsense resource on fundraising communications - Passionate Giving
Simplifies the art and science of major gifts - Sean Triner’s Blog
Big on donor data and what donors actually do - Showcase Of Fundraising Innovation & Inspiration
See the creative from the world’s best fundraising campaigns