Have you ever met a donor who liked funding infrastructure? I
have. Once.
When I served as Director of Development for a national
non-profit, my organization needed a new heating and ventilation
system for the national office. The cost was around $75,000, as
I recall. The executive director approached one of our major
donors, a businessman who was also a faithful supporter, and
asked if he would like to partner with us. The donor promptly
wrote a cheque for the full amount. Later on, that same donor
made a commitment to pay for the parking lot to be re-paved, a
renovation that would cost over $25,000.
That donor was the exception. Most donors do not get excited
about paying for sheet metal ducts or fresh asphalt. Donors give
to people, not programs. Donors don't send donations by mail to
support a mission statement. They don't respond to appeals
because of your vision statement. Or simply because your general
fund is depleted. And they are not (with rare exceptions)
inspired to pay for electrical bills, staples, travel costs and
plumbing repairs. Donors are people. And people give to people,
usually to help people.
This basic fundraising truth means that you must state your
organizational needs in human terms whenever possible. You must
translate your case for support from non-profit-speak into flesh
and blood. Donors want to know how their gift will help the
people that you serve.
This fundraising truth still applies even if you do not serve
people. If your non-profit promotes nuclear arms disarmament,
for example, your donors want to know how their gift will end
nuclear weapons testing. If you are an animal-rights charity,
your donors want to know how their financial gift will rescue
animals from laboratory experiments.
How to say "people," not "programs" If
you are raising funds for a specific project that aims to help a
particular people group (children, seniors, single mothers,
children with cerebral palsy), then your job is straightforward.
Ask yourself these questions:
1. What is my client's need?
2. What do we presently lack
to meet that need?
3. How will my client benefit if we
meet that need?
Here is an example. Imagine that your non-profit organization in
South Africa runs an orphanage for children whose parents have
died from AIDS. The children are suffering from dysentery
because the local water supply is contaminated. Your solution is
to drill a well. You need $50,000.
You could send an appeal letter to your supporters, asking for
$50,000. Mistake.
You could send an appeal letter to your supporters, asking for
$50,000 for a new well. Another mistake.
Remember, people give to people to help people. Your donors want
to help orphans, not drill a well. Drilling the well will help
the orphans, but your ask needs to concentrate on the orphans.
Here's how you would answer the above three questions.
Q. What is my client's need?
A. To avoid deadly
dysentery.
Q. What do we presently lack to meet that need?
A. A well
that supplies fresh water.
Q. How will my clients benefit if we meet that need?
A.
Live rather than die an excruciating death. Continue enjoying
the benefits of full-time schooling. Continue to reach their
potential physically, socially and emotionally. Avoid many
medical complications later in life. Be productive members of
society in a few years. Be able to help others. You get the idea.
Your job now is to ask for funds to drill the well so that the
children will benefit in those ways listed. Don't just ask for
money for a well. That's just a project. Don't show a photo of
the well in its packing crate. Show how the donor's gift will
help the children you serve. That's the people.
What about the "general fund" ask? The
greatest challenge in this area is when you are requesting funds
for your general fund and not for a tangible project, when you
cannot describe any specific benefits that are tied to a
particular initiative. In these cases, you still need to
describe your need in human terms, and you do this by showing
your donors the view from 10,000 feet instead of 10 feet..
Let's say you need to raise money by mail for your general fund,
to pay for salaries, administration, office supplies,
postage--all the things that are needed to run a non-profit. The
view from 10 feet says you need to raise $20,000 this quarter to
meet general fund expenses or you're in trouble with your board.
But the view from 10,000 feet says you need to raise $20,000 to
continue meeting the needs of the people you serve.
So instead of saying this:
"Please donate to our general fund."
You say this:
"Please send a gift today to our 'Sequoia Sender's
Fund.' From this fund we draw the monies needed to promote our
service to environmentalists at large, train teams, send them
overseas, and handle all the tasks involved in getting those
volunteers onto the field and back again in a way that promotes
responsible forestry practices, encourages and equips local
activists, and blesses the volunteer who goes."
See the difference? The fund is no longer a general fun but a
fund set aside to accomplish the goals of the organization. It
serves the same purpose, it just has a more compelling name.
This ask is worded in such a way that it covers every office
expense from paper to payroll, yet in a way likely to inspire
and motivate donors.
Your role as a writer of effective fundraising letters is to
always be looking for the human interest story that lies beneath
your immediate financial needs. Capture that, and you'll capture
the hearts and minds of your donors.
© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this
article online and in print provided the links remain live and
the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author"
message).
More Information:Alan Sharpe is a professional fundraising letter writer, instructor, coach, author and newsletter publisher who helps non-profit organizations to raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using cost-effective, compelling, creative fundraising letters. Sign up for free weekly tips like this at
http://www.RaiserSharpe.com/ 
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