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 genericOn 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 lettersThe 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 peopleThe 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 fundraisersThe 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.
ConclusionDirect 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 wayThe 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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