Fundraising Letter Composition

💌 ✍ How long should your fundraising letter be, really? Recent, field-tested perspective, from a working fundraising writer: My job is fundraising copywriting. So if people don’t read the direct mail appeals I write, you'd better believe I know it. Revenue, response, retention, those things are going to go down. Which means I also know – firsthand – that when someone out there tells you, “No one reads long letters” ... it's rubbish. But we're not here to be combative. Instead I want to get you thinking about your letters like a working fundraising writer. So today we’re going to take that “No long letters” myth and dissect it: Let’s assume you one day decide your fundraising appeals will not... must NEVER... exceed 1 sheet of paper. (DO NOT do this in real life. Keep reading.) Let’s also assume you want your short letter to remain readable. This means: -      You need 1-1.5” for your nonprofit logo/letterhead -      You want 1” margins left and right -      You want ~1” for bottom page margin -      You need type size set at 12-14 points, in a font that isn’t condensed -      You need to tab (indent) your paragraphs -      You need 1 line for a page turn reminder (e.g., ‘continues on other side’) -      You need 1-1.5” for your signature block and sign-off on side 2 -      You may (or may not) need an add’l .5 -.75” for footer with your charity number, tax ID, disclaimer, etc. You may (or may not) need a 2” address block. I am NOT saying you can’t successfully write short. I have. You can. Lots of others, too. What I AM saying is that after all the above, you have approx 750 words to get the job done. Add a paragraph on both sides to ask for a gift, and you’re at, what, 650 words? In the wrong hands these letters get real boilerplate, real quick. imho, this is a far better letter strategy:        >>> Make your fundraising appeals as long as they need to be, to:        tell your story with emotion, clarity, resonance, truth, and urgency,        present a strong offer, and provide repeated calls to action.<<< 💌 Many of my top-performing appeals are 6-pages. (Yup, six. Recently, too.) 💌 Many others are 4-page letters. 💌 Some are 2-pagers. None are postcards. 💌 All of this is based on actual results. So. Here’s what no one (really) wants: 🚫 No one wants a 4-page letter crammed onto 1-page/2-sides 🚫 No one wants 8-point type with yawning wide line measures like an Impenetrable Wall of Text 🚫 No one, not one donor, wants boilerplate. They want emotion, a strong offer, a compelling story. They want life. Heart. Urgency. Love. 🌟 Write this into your creative briefs before you artificially constrain letter length, and watch your appeals improve. ❤️✍ 💌 ======== ❤️✍ Want more on ways to craft more generous words... effective, engaging fundraising writing... and nonprofit story strategy in general? I send new stuff every two weeks if you’re on the list 😊 lisasargent.com/newsletter

We just raised £90,000 for a client, here’s how: ✅ Probably the biggest factor is the preparation time. This particular funding bid was proofed and amended several times over a 2 week period before submission. ✅ It matched the trusts vision perfectly, and tied together multiple of its 'sub-aims' as well as the overall vision having really specific measurable outcomes - qualitative and quantitative - for both the immediate year, as well as a couple of ones just beyond that ✅ 'Show' don't just 'tell' - i.e., rather than just explaining the impact, evidence the work, demonstrate the need and successes with stats (impact reports etc) ✅ This Trust has a 50% match funding requirement - most don't, but even so, I think its helpful for the charity to have a really strong fundraising strategy (not just T&F), to demonstrate the proactivity with drawing in funding, and sustainability after funding ends ✅ Keeping the wording slightly more simple but not uneducated is often most effective. But within that make it personal and not robotic - let the writing say something about the heart and passion of the organisation ⬆ This is straight from the person who wrote the application. I hope that helps!? And feel free to leave any other tips on Trust fundraising in the comments below 👇🏼 #Charity #Fundraising #TrustFundraising

I sent the same appeal to 10,000 donors. One version raised $67,000. The other raised $142,000. The only difference? Where I put the word "you." Donor-centered writing isn't just nice—it's profitable: • "You" in the first sentence increases response by 23% • Stories about donors (not beneficiaries) raise more money • Questions outperform statements in both open and response rates One organization rewrote their case statement from "we need" to "you can" language and saw major gift closes increase by 41%. The most powerful word in fundraising isn't "give"—it's "you." What small language shift has made the biggest difference in your fundraising?