How Not to Write a Fund-Raising Appeal, i.e., Sales Pitch
I have always hated fund-raising appeals -- as a fund-raiser and as a donor.
I ran a tax-exempt organization from 1977 to 2001. I made a total of one written appeal, in 1982, at the tail end of a recession. It raised about $10,000. I never wrote one again.
Let me show you how not to raise funds. Do not write something like this:
Our summer fundraising campaign is faltering, and I'm beginning to panic. Yes, I know, we've always made it, but there's always a first time -- and, believe me, our first time will be our last. Because if we don't make our fundraising goal, I can't assure you that this column will continue -- or that [outfit] will continue, for that matter. We depend entirely on the large quantity of typically small contributions that our readers and supporters send in, four times a year, to keep our heads above water. But the water, I'm afraid, is rising quickly, and we're already gasping for air.So, c'mon, let's get cracking: the last thing we need is the loss of [outfit]. That would sure make the [opposition] inordinately happy -- and with good reason. They wouldn't have us calling them out on their lies, their shameless profiteering, their endless political maneuvering -- and that would be, for them, quite a relief.
Look, we don't need much: comparable nonprofits our size require a lot more. We do a lot with much less. Help us get what we need to continue one of the most cost-effective activist efforts ever -- send in your 100% tax-deductible donation today.
My response: "Not a brass farthing!"
Let me translate this sales pitch into the language of Donordom.
I did not budget accurately for summer, even though I knew, as all heads of non-profits know after the first year of operations, that donations always fall in summer. We don't have any money in reserve. We spend every dime as soon as it comes in. We're like the Federal government, except we don't print money. Now I am up the creek without a paddle. So, send an unspecified amount of money to solve my looming problem: a shortfall of an unspecified amount of money. Trust me. Now get cracking!
As a potential donor, I want proof. I want to see a URL to a web page created for this emergency. This page would have the following information:
1. How much we spend per month.
2. What we spend it on.
3. Why this is mandatory to get the task done.
4. How much money is needed within 30 days.
5. How large a check I need from you.
There would be this guarantee:
"If we do not raise $XX,XXX by [date], I will fire the staff, sublease the building, and have the electricity and phones turned off. I am not bluffing. This is a sink-or-swim emergency."The reader's obligation: Trust, but verify.
As a direct marketer, I tell you: be specific. State the immediate problem. State the solution. Make sure the solution fits the problem. This is called "Reason why." Give a deadline date. This is called "Act now!"
Fund-raising appeals are a form of direct-response advertising. If you don't understand direct-response advertising, don't write fund-raising appeals. Do it right or don't do it at all.
I recommend not doing it at all.
Leonard E. Read never wrote a fund-raising letter for the Foundation for Economic Education from the day he founded it in 1946 until the day he died in 1983.
I am still ashamed that I wrote one in 1982.
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