Easy thumbs-up. This is the 176th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, August 13, 2025 Hi Reader, If you've done any writing at all, you've probably heard the advice “show, don’t tell” about a million times. But “showing” is not just about sensory details or dialogue. It’s also about you-were-there "time travel." Are you forgetting the ING in your fundraising writing? An -ING...
17 days ago • 2 min read
Well, hello there! This is the 175th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, July 30, 2025 Hi Reader, Have you heard of "audience capture"? It's when a person (typically an artist, performer, or influencer) is shaped almost entirely by the feedback from their audience. Instead of doing what they feel ought to be done, the person does only what they feel the audience thinks...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Middle-of-the-road is cringe. Don't go there. This is the 174th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, July 16, 2025 Hi Reader, There's a problem I'm seeing more and more of, especially in fundraising. It's insidious. It's pervasive to the point of being almost invisible. I'm talking about giving everyone a voice at all times. But everyone should have a voice! Right? Well, yes...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
For Grinch-proof appeals. This is the 173rd Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, July 9, 2025 Hi Reader, I'm a naturally caring person. But when my Aunt Jo died of colon cancer, suddenly I found myself caring far more than ever before about this horrible disease, because it now had a face and a heart. Your fundraising stories can do the same for your donors. I encourage you...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Our new puppy, Charlie. A puppy for your happy fundraising summer thoughts. This is the 173rd Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, June 25, 2025 Hi Reader, Summer snuck up on me. So did this puppy. Meet Charlie! He's a cavapoo. We've had him for 1 week, and already we are head over heels. After Brett and I lost our dear Pepe and Daisy within 12 months of each other last year,...
2 months ago • 2 min read
This is off the wall! This is the 172nd Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, June 11, 2025 Hi Reader, Brett here: I'm the kind of guy who counts on forgetting. (I know me.) That's why two of my best buds are Google Calendar and iPhone alarms. Best bud #1: Best bud #2: Maybe you're not like me, your memory is good as gold, and you are fond of saying "checklist schmecklist",...
3 months ago • 6 min read
Photo Credit: The Fundraising Summer School The professor holds forth, and I am all ears! This is the 171st Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, June 4, 2025 Hi Reader, One of the highlights of my recent trip to the UK and Ireland was meeting Professor Russell James in person. Brett and I had met him virtually when he was the special guest for a couple of Tom Ahern webinars...
3 months ago • 3 min read
A fundraising golden rule: know and care for your donors. This is the 170th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Hi Reader, Brett and I just returned from the UK and Ireland, where I presented at The Fundraising Summer School in Dublin. It was the trip of a lifetime. I'm so happy and grateful that we got to do it. My favorite destination was Bath, England, where...
3 months ago • 3 min read
Life is better when shared. This is the 169th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, May 7, 2025 Hi Reader, On Saturday, Brett and I will be headed to the UK. We're so excited. It's my first time out of North America, and Brett's first time returning to Bath, England, since he studied there for a semester in 1992. We will end our trip in Dublin, where I'll be presenting with...
4 months ago • 3 min read