How a volunteer-run local charity raised $100K in 2021
Notably re-quotable
“Most writers invest little time in the prewriting process, focusing instead on fixing a lame draft during the rewriting phase. Turn that investment upside down: Spend the bulk of your time getting ready to write, and you’ll spend less time fixing what you wrote.” Wise words from one of my long-time, most useful writing mentors, Ann Wylie. For a detailed dive into her time-saving 3-step writing process (prewriting, freewriting, rewriting), read her blog post.
File under: Local charities making fortunes from direct mail...
How this volunteer-run local charity raised a ton of money in December 2021 with a single piece of direct mail. True story that hangs off the final “fact”...
Repeat after me this fundraising prayer...
Fact: In December 2021 (i.e., last month), this small nonprofit — a coastal land trust in Madison, CT; one that’s conserved 2,000 acres so far and offers 35 miles of varied trails to explore — raised $100,000 with just one letter (shown below). And they’ll probably receive a few more big gifts in January, experience promises.
Fact: Their 2021 appeal was pretty much the very same as the one they’d sent in 2019. They freshened it up a bit by changing the featured bird: from wood thrush to Whip-poor-will; both town residents.
Fact: The appeal wasn’t personalized. It generically opens “Dear Neighbor.” All 6,700 households in Madison received it. The town bends affluent, for sure: the median household income there is $108,000 vs. a U.S. median of $68,000. But it is far from the richest town in CT; that town has a median of $236,000.
Fact: This local charity has NO paid staff. Volunteers do everything, from maintaining trails to writing grants.
Fact that should be honored separately: In 2021, those grant-writing volunteers raised $1 million.
Fact: For a decade, a volunteer who lives in town and likes to hike has written the land trust’s annual appeal. That volunteer, Maggie Cohn, is a trained pro, with a solid record of success in the nonprofit world. Fun fact: Maggie likes to hike so much that she just had her first hip replacement (healing slowly but well).
Fact: In 2021, volunteer graphic designer, Andrea Hopkins — another experienced, successful professional — did a rough update of the land trust’s 2019 letter and then “Maggie did a fluff and buff when I was done.”
Fact … and maybe the most vital fact of all: These qualified volunteers enjoy total freedom to do the best they can, year after successful year. No one — no board member nor boss — second-guesses their work. Maggie: “We did what we wanted. Which made the letter so much quicker and easier to write! And it worked like magic.”
Amen.
Lesson learned?
Here’s the letter, with some comments about what's going on beneath the surface:
How soon does the word “you” appear? A+! It’s the second word of the Johnson box. It’s also the second word of the 1st sentence.
How soon does it give me a big job to do? A+! Johnson box. Again in the 4th paragraph, this time underlined and bolded. And again in the very middle of the page, in bigger bold type: “It’s a matter of survival.”
How soon does the target audience (local nature lovers) encounter urgency? A+! Johnson box (“deadly pollution and habitat loss”) then again in the very center of the page with one line of centered, bigger, bolder type: “It’s a matter of survival”.
Now please note at the bottom of the page the highly visible “Please keep reading,” rendered in warm, friendly hand-lettering with an informal, curvy arrow (one of the nice, subtle, human touches Andrea Hopkins is brilliant at).
And what does the target audience (the local nature lover) see at the very top of the next page? The same big job to do: “These beautiful and threatened birds need you to protect them.”
And if you’re wondering (because maybe your boss or board chair thinks it looks corny or cheesy or salesy), “Does it have to have a P.S.?” … the answer is a hard YES! >>> For technical reasons that the untrained DON’T know and every direct mail pro DOES know, thanks to revolutionary eye-motion research conducted by Dr. Siegfried Vögele in the 1980s in Germany. Dr. Vögele is known as the “Albert Einstein of direct mail.”
Fundraising isn’t your worst 2022 problem:
Staffing is
HERE. For all you nonprofit leaders … now and would-be: here’s a brief blog post from Copley Raff that crisply clarifies the terror that is 2022’s workplace. To quote a scout: Be prepared. In similar news, here’s a smart, new article from Fast Company: “Dear Boss: This is what it would take to get me to stay working for you.”
Lefties wonder: Why do I feel so uneasy?
HERE. Hat tip (yet again) to Harvey McKinnon, an activist who’s made a BIG political diff in Canada … for this contemplation from Steve QJ. Writing While Black. “Nobody said kindness was easy.”
How to create email welcome journeys: The free and expert PDF
HERE. I got mine (scroll down on their Freebies page; look for the word TEMPLATE) … and I instantly liked the approach taken by The Purpose Collective. It’s clear, fast and they even link you to 8 other articles about the same topic (so they’re generous, not exclusive). Immediately useful? This PDF guide shares actual annotated examples of welcome emails, so you quickly grasp the principles.
Something special your way comes
HERE. John Lepp finally wrote his book about building more creativity into your donor comms. Years of poking and prodding by admirers who’d heard John speak went into the making of this very special book. And now Hilborn’s Civil Sector Press, “Canada’s nonprofit publisher” will soon release it.
I’ve read the early drafts. My promise to you: This book is revolutionary.
My promise to you: It’s a “once in a generation” book. It will rewire your mind.
My promise to you: It will explain exactly why your charity’s communications now, currently, in your latest giving season, might have under-performed (because you can’t BORE people into giving you $$$, to adapt wisdom from David Ogilvy).
And … it will lay before your mind a feast of new ideas worth trying!
For now, though? All John needs is your email address, so he can send you a FREE CHAPTER and occasional updates on his new book’s progress.
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