If ever we come off as being something other than what we really are, it’s when we’re trying to impress someone. That’s true of us as individuals and true of us as organizations.
And when does it seem more important for an organization to try to impress someone than when it’s asking for financial support?
Sadly, the results often reflect this misguided attempt.
One of the most difficult chores of employers today is trying to interpret the truth of resumes that have been “inflated.” Anyone who has had to do it knows it’s not pleasant work. If you run a nonprofit organization, or even a part of one, and have had to go through the process of finding a worthy employee, you know what this means.
Why, then, would you assume that anyone out there wants to have to wade through fundraising letter ”inflation,” if that terminology can be transferred. Your potential donors very likely are going to understand your organization’s mission and effort, and if you’ve been doing your job of communicating with them regularly all along, they’re going to know your accomplishments.
So what’s incumbent upon you is simply to provide what the advertising firm McCann Erickson has had as its slogan for decades: “The Truth Well Told.” If you believe that persuasive writing is something other than this, read Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and the Sea.” (Even the title is nothing but three-letter words.) Published in 1952 and leading to his receipt of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954, the novella is the essence of simplicity.
Hemingway doesn’t need elaborate words or structures or “constructs” to make the world of Santiago, the Cuban fisherman, come to life. And neither do you. (As an aside, as you’re asking for support, keep in mind the words of Santiago, that “man is not made for defeat.”)
It’s not just your words and tone that are important; Apply simplicity in your message, your fonts, your paper. If this is truly a “letter” you’re sending (and it should be addressed to the individual, not “dear supporter,” and it should be personally signed by you, even if you’re sending out a thousand of them), it requires only the typewriter font in one size with an occasional underline.
No time for a novel, or even a novella
And it can be relatively short. They can call or go to your website for more information, but if you’re been communicating all along over the past year (and each communication must offer the opportunity to contribute), they already have all the “facts.” They just need to be reminded.
The facts may be that this is an annual request; they’ve donated before, and here are the wonderful results of their contribution from last year. If this is a special request, here’s the reason and here are the wonderful results from the last time you made a special request. With this statement, transparency and honesty are paramount. If your recent efforts fell short, admit it and tell your potential donor why and what’s going to be different this time. Treat them as part of the family, bringing them into the family discussion.
This is not the time to entertain them; save that for your annual event which will provide song and dance, etc. as part of the program. This is not even the time to educate them; that’s what your regular newsletter and other mailing and events are for. This is not even the time to thank them for last year’s contribution; that better have been done long ago.
Keep it simple, from the heart
This is time to make your appeal. Summarize what you’ve told them in newsletters past, that you’ll be able to have more success stories like those of little Johnny and little Annie; that you’re doing everything possible to keep as great a percentage of donations as possible serving your clients (they’ll see this from the plain vanilla letter), or whatever else you think you need to say. If possible, keep it to the front of one sheet of paper. Let them know that they can get any further information they need by contacting you.
And ask for the donation. Ask for the donation. Politely, of course, but ask for the donation.
If there’s ever a problem in any kind of sales, (yes, this is sales), it’s failure to “close.”
“I’m thanking your in advance for matching your donation of $100 from last year and I give you my personal assurance that it’ll be put to good use. If you want to add a bit to that figure, it will expand our ability to help in the cause which you have supported so passionately for all these years.”
Write like you would write to your grandmother; treat each donor as if they were a respected member of the family and you value what they provide. And mean it. Treat them this way whether they give $5 or $5,000. You’d never subject Grandma to a slick dog-and-pony show or expect her to read through eight pages of sales pitch.
Simplicity is not just easier on your donors, it’s a lot easier on you, too. And a lot better for your cause as well.
If you’d like to enjoy The Old Man and the Sea, you might choose to listen to Donald Sutherland read it.
