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 should be done. The person has been "captured" by their audience. They are no longer truly themselves. I bring this up because it's a term I recently learned and it's a good example of how helpful it can be to have the right vocabulary so you can think more clearly about things. In other words, now that I know the term "audience capture," I'm more likely to notice it in action, understand it, talk about it, think about it, avoid it, and so on. Vocabulary matters. I'd say this is also the case with the following... 3 words for your fundraising dictionaryI'm talking about pathos, ethos, and logos. Aristotle divided the art of persuasion (rhetoric) into:
To be persuasive, Aristotle advised, use a combination of the above. Not all "appeals" are created equal . . .
Fundraising appeals likewise need more pathos. Particularly: emotion. This is in part because fundraising appeals tend to reach people when they’re busy. Donors may be in the middle of something: a work task, a chore, a discussion. They love your organization, but their mind is elsewhere. Also, you don’t have the luxury of a captive audience.
You only have a few seconds to grab your donors’ attention as they go through their mail or their email. How can you shift their limited attention to your urgent need? With pathos. Lots of it. (Donors who feel more care more and give more.) But you do need all three: pathos, logos, and ethos. Pathos is the cake. Pathos is also the frosting. Ethos and logos are the sprinkles on top! ​ [Originally published in our free book, Heartable Fundraising Writing.] Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge youFor your brain, heart, and funny bone...
Until next time: May you be endlessly, productively persuasive because you understand when, why, and how to use logos, ethos, and especially pathos! Grateful, Brett Cooper & Julie Cooper |
We're Julie Cooper and Brett Cooper, fundraising copywriters for great causes. Does your fundraising bring in as much money as it could? You can send donor communications that stir hearts to action. We'd love to help. đź’› Start by subscribing to our FREE and fun weekly newsletter.
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...
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...
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...