At at recent speaking gig
“No silver bullet in this work, as you already know! It’s about the long, slow, patient, worthwhile work of loving donors. And Tom is an expert at translating that love into written communications. You’ve got a great mission. So bring on love and more love! The money really will follow.”
Beth Beall, ED, Vida Joven, February 2022
My not-so-blazingly epic career
I’m a professional copywriter.
And a former food columnist. And a one-time PR flack. And I compiled oral histories of up-from-poverty Great Depression boxers. And I was an employee communications specialist (puke). And the author of several small books of poetry and fiction, with a BA and MA in English from Brown University and a certificate in advertising art from the RI School of Design night school. I earned an international credential in business communications, too; winning global awards in that arena.
Whatever turned a buck and had to do with words.
I like words.
I love books. I wanted to be a writer before I could even read.
These days, I make my living by writing capital campaign cases and fundraising direct mail … by doing audits, reviewing and recommending fixes for donor communications … and by teaching others (through books and workshops and staff training) everything I’ve learned during decades of trial, error ... and the occasional spectacular success.
Like the time my direct mail acquisition appeal, based on Dr. Cialdini’s principle of “reciprocity” attracted 30,000+ donors to a community hospital. Or the time I turned a money-losing donor newsletter for an international charity into “a license to print money in the basement,” to quote a delighted CEO. The largest capital campaign I’ve worked on to date was for a billion dollars; it made goal ahead of schedule.
The New York Times wrote:
“Tom Ahern … is one of the country’s most sought-after creators of fund-raising messages.”
Carefully constructed meeting notes
With life-partner Simone Joyaux
“As the amazing Tom Ahern has been preaching for years, ‘lean into the loverizing.’ Making your donors feel seen, heard, appreciated, and vital is truly effective. I’ve been implementing this tactic since I bought his book and met him some 15 years ago. He changed the way I fundraise and I’ve been sharing his worldview ever time I present a fund development workshop. Thank you, Tom, for being a game-changing pioneer.”
SARAH J MALCHOW, CFRE, DECEMBER 2023
I didn’t start in fundraising.
I built my career in sales, of everything from lotteries to roof membranes to adult education to disability insurance to a zoo. It was hardcore. Results were all that mattered.
It taught me to respect research. Know what you’re doing, don’t guess. I aim to have an “opinion-free” practice. I have 500+ professional how-to and reference books in my office. Every day of the year, I read an hour or more in my field. Countless mentors have tramped through my brain, leaving behind good advice.
I began working with nonprofits full-time around 2003. I was surprised that basic skills I took for granted as a sales copywriter — like the deft use of emotional triggers to prompt action, for instance; or reverence for the customer — were often missing in the donor communications I saw.
And I saw a lot: hundreds, then thousands, of communications pieces meant for donors … and pretty much all of them unwittingly built to fail.
My journey began.
Will you join me? Can we raise more money together?
