Good things begin with ❤️. This is the 138th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can ​subscribe here for free.)​

In this issue:

✅ 30 years for us! ❤️ 30 tips for you! 🤩

✅ Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you

Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Hi Reader,

As I write this on Monday, Brett and I are celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary.

I shall resist the temptation to imply we're not that old by joking about getting married as toddlers. (Um, toddlers should not get married.)

Did 30 years fly by?

No.

Also, yes.

This morning, our son Mikias asked, "How does it feel to be married for 30 years?"

Brett said, "Lucky and proud."

❤️❤️

Since you didn't get us an anniversary gift this year
​
— just kidding; thank you for reading! —
​
we got YOU one
​
— just kidding; still, here are...

30 years for us! ❤️ 30 tips for you! 🤩

Please raise a virtual glass to us in celebration ... and lift your appeal response rate with our 30 Fundraising Appeal Writing Tips.

Here's a peek at the first 3 tips:

And here again is the free PDF with all 30 tips.

Thank you for celebrating with us! 😊

Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you

For your brain, heart, and funny bone...

• Fundraisingly Informative — How Fundraising Words Are Different from Sales Words by Russell James (a Moceanic article/excerpt from Professor James' book The Storytelling Fundraiser, about how and why you should carefully wordsmith the formality out of your donor comms, with examples)
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• Socially Proscribed — The Power of Social Experimentation via Win-Win with Liv Boeree (a 96-minute podcast episode in which the former poker pro interviews AJ Jacobs about the experiments covered in his books: living biblically for a year, living by the letter of the US Constitution for a year, outsourcing everything for a month, and so on — plus puzzles and habits hacks)
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• Sidesplittingly Viral — This local restaurant video got 11M views — because it NAILS the first rule of social marketing via Jason Feifer and Tirzah's Mexi-Terranean restaurant in Los Angeles (a LinkedIn post featuring a 21-second video that went viral because it edited out everything except for the fully human elements)

Until next time: May your days be filled with love, luck, and big days worth celebrating!

Grateful,