Writing fundraising letters is an art! There are exact ways and strategies to ask men and women for their charity dollars... Yet many fundraising professionals don't know the first thing about writing effective letters or about direct mail.
Why are so many fundraising professionals in the dark? Because the strategies, systems and methods they must know to be successful are not taught in schools or universities. Instead, they are proven methods passed on from one successful fundraiser to another.
Donate Funds
That's why so many charities have to hire professional writers and consultants to make their direct mail fundraising programs. Meanwhile, the fees for these consultants can be lofty and many smaller charities just can't afford the fees. In this article, I want to give you a few tips on why direct mail fundraising is an primary part of your fund amelioration schedule and a few ways you can begin construction your program.
Step One: Keep good records! Your church or charity should have a good computer theory and software box that can track every donation. Obviously, you need the name and address of the donor along with the number of their gift. But you also want to narrative the designation (how the gift should be used) and what motivated the donor to give. By motivation, I mean was it a letter, a personal visit, an event or a fund raising campaign? Be detailed about the motivation so you can use this information to track the effectiveness and conversion rates of your fundraising efforts.
Step Two: Get your ducks lined up. Make sure you start your fundraising efforts with a plan and request the right questions. A good fundraising schedule has donor acquisition programs (getting habitancy to give for the first time), donor amelioration (turning one-time donors into long-term partners), and donor relations (caring for your donors). Before you conclude on a fundraising strategy, make sure you keep the end in mind. If you mix agendas you can have disappointing results.
Step Three: change your one-time givers into long-term donors. One of the most fine benefits of direct mail is to make a closer relationship with habitancy who have shown interest in your cause. A one-time giver is not a donor or a partner. So it's foremost to make exact fundraising letters that will increase the commitment of that giver and motivate them to give an additional one gift. Writing well structured and motivating fund raising appeal letters is primary to converting one-time givers to long-tern donors.
Step Four: Take care of your donors. I am always amazed at how little care non-profit organizations give to their donor base! And then they wonder why their fundraising efforts are not successful. Your donor base is like the heart of your organization. If it's not pumping blood (donation dollars) straight through your system, the whole body can weaken and finally die! Every donor should receive the best attention and care that is reasonable. You will want to make easy to implement systems to properly thank your donors for their charity dollars. And here's a surprise: to be successful, every donor should received a sincere and well-written thank you letter within five business days of the receipt of their gift! Why is this so important? First of all, it's the polite thing to do! Treat the donor's gift as if it was a personal birthday gift to you from a good friend. You would thank your friend right away... It's good manners and part of maintaining good relationships. The same is true in fundraising.
The other suspect that thank you letters are so foremost is because they often serve as a tool for the donor to give again! Many of my fundraising clients received more than 25 percent of their donation dollars from thank you letters and donor receipts. Setting up good fundraising systems pays in high dividends. Take the time to make your systems and watch your donor base advance and your revenue grow.
How to Write mighty Fundraising Letters That Raise Money and enhance Donor Relationships
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