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Fundraising Letter Templates Harm Your Non-Profit's Reputation
and Response Rate
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By Alan Sharpe
[Hits: 7484]
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Fundraising letter templates are a mistake. They insult donors.They mislead fundraisers. And they don't work. You cannotgenerate sustainable income, build relationships and retainloyal donors by mailing fill-in-the-blanks letters. Here aresome sound reasons for avoiding boilerplate appeals.
1. They are, by definition, too generic
On the website of one fundraising coach is a "very generaldonation request letter" that you are encouraged to customize byfilling in "the details that are specific to your organization."The problem with this approach is that non-profit organizationsare radically different.
What, for example, does Mothers Against Drunk Driving have incommon with the Boy Scouts of America? What common goals doesthe Sydney Opera House share with The National RifleAssociation? Could you take one "very general donation requestletter" and customize it to meet the unique needs, case forsupport, brand image, voice and personality of each of theseorganizations? I think that idea is [fill in the blank]___________________.
2. They miss the main goal of fundraising letters
The goal of every appeal letter you mail is not to raise a giftbut to retain a giver. You are after the donor first, theirdonation second. The most important gift in fundraising is notthe first, but the second. You can twist a gift out of justabout anyone, once. But getting subsequent gifts is where yourchallenge lies. And where you demonstrate your expertise. Thebig failing with fundraising letter templates is that they areafter money only. Donors sense that attitude when they read theletter (assuming they do).
3. They treat donors as purses, not people
The only way I know of to get money without human contact is touse an automated banking machine. Bank tellers are personal.Automated banking machines are impersonal. Just walk into yourlocal bank any morning and count the number of senior citizenswaiting in line for a teller. They choose the human being overthe machine because senior citizens are often lonely. They cravehuman contact. When you approach donors with generic,impersonal, copy-and-paste fundraising letter templates, youtreat them as automated banking machines who should simply do asthey are told and cough up the cash without delay. And who likesbeing treated that way? Not [pick one] me/you/us.
4. They mislead sincere fundraisers
The biggest problem that I have with fundraising lettertemplates is that they fool some fundraising staff into thinkingthat raising funds by mail is easy. All you need to do is "copyand paste the following text into your word processing program,""fill in the details that are specific to your organization,""print out the letters on your organization's letterhead," andconclude your letter thus: "Today, you can make an immediatedifference in the life of [homeless/orphans/etc.] Each [$amount] you send provides [specific goods/services] to [numberof people]." Then you recline your office chair and wait for themailbags of donations to arrive from your fervent donors.
Conclusion
Direct mail fundraising, like all fundraising, is aboutrelationships, not revenue. And you can't develop relationshipsbuilt on trust and mutual respect if your fundraising methodsare standard, impersonal and disrespectful. There are noshort-cuts to long-term donor loyalty, despite what somepublishers of fundraising letter templates imply.
New Handbook shows you a better way
The best way I know of to learn the craft of creating, writingand designing successful fundraising letters is not to fill inthe blanks but to fill your head with examples of excellentletters that worked. Study successful direct mail appeals.Analyze why they worked. Put what you learn into practice.
Anatomy of a Profitable Fundraising Letter, the fourthHandbook in the Hands-On Fundraising Series, features aline-by-line analysis of a successful direct mail fundraisingpackage that Habitat for Humanity mailed to prospective donors.If you use the mail to raise funds, this handbook will help youdiscover what to do right--and what to avoid. Learn more aboutthis new Handbook at www.RaiserSharpe.com
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