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Dear Friend: Don't Start Your Non-For-Profit Fundraising Letters
As A Stranger
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By Alan Sharpe
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Dear Friend:
Don't do it.
Don't start your fundraising letters with "Dear Friend."
After all, when was the last time you received a letter fromsomeone dear to you, addressing you as "Dear Friend?" Never,right? The days of the Dear Friend letter are dead. So let'sbury the Dear Friend letter together.
I heard recently of a chairman of the board of a nationalcharity who has given his charity millions of dollars andhundreds of hours of his time, yet he still receives theirfundraising appeals addressing him as "Dear Friend." Ouch.
Your fundraising letters are intended to make friends as well assolicit funds. So don't send form letters to make friends.Friends write personal letters. Letters addressed to theirfriends by name. My wife never sends me a letter that begins,"Dear Friend." Neither do my friends. And neither should youwhen writing to your donors.
I realize that personalization costs more. I know that you savemoney if you send everyone the same Dear Friend letter. Youdon't have to insert custom fields into your letter. You don'thave to perform a time-consuming mail-merge. You don't have tomatch the addresses on your letters with the addresses on yourreply cards and mailing envelopes (assuming you are usingclosed-face envelopes).
You can compare your costs for mailing a personalized letterversus mailing a Dear Friend letter, and you'll also find thatthe Dear Friend letter is cheaper. But I'd like to suggest, andso I will, that you are measuring the wrong thing.
Return on investment shouldn't be your only criteria formeasuring the success of your fundraising letters. What aboutdonor loyalty? What about donor attrition? What about thelifetime value of each donor? What about plain old courtesy?
Donors stop giving for any number of reasons, but at the top ofthe list is feeling unappreciated. Think of that chairman of theboard that I mentioned a minute ago. Can't you just hear himsaying to himself, as he receives yet another Dear Friendappeal, "I have given this charity millions of dollars andhundreds of hours of my time, and they treat me as though theydon't even know my name"?
Yes, Dear Friend letters are expedient. But expedience is notyour only aim in running a successful fundraising letterprogram. Robbing banks is also expedient, but it's not right.Using guilt as a motivator in your letters is also expedient. Itraises funds in the short term. But it's not right. And startingevery letter with Dear Friend is more expedient than customizingeach letter, but it's not the right thing to do.
You should bury the Dear Friend letter because it is impersonaland rude. It alienates perfectly nice donors, people who willcontinue to support your organization with their treasure, timeand talents if you will only treat them as partners and not asautomated bank machines. Addressing your donors by name makesthem feel special and appreciated.
At the Business Depot where I buy my office supplies, there is astore clerk who always remembers my name. She serves hundreds ofcustomers. Yet when I approach the cash, she makes me feel likeI'm a special customer. I feel a little flattered every time.Her name, by the way, is Allyson.
Specialists in customer service have long known that rememberinga customer's name--and using it--is one of the most effectiveways (and free ways) to encourage repeat business, customerloyalty and free word-of-mouth advertising. The same is just astrue in fundraising, although I have no empirical studies toback that up.
Please don't start your letters with Dear Friend. Donors take itpersonally.
© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint thisarticle online and in print provided the links remain live andthe content remains unaltered (including the "About the author"message).
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