This is the 202nd Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can ​subscribe here for free.)​

Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Hi Reader,

If anyone's ever asked you for a big favor, you know that being asked can feel really good!

Especially if the need is real and you respect the person who's asking.

A big favor is a kind of big ask.

A moonshot, maybe.

Don't miss your (fundraising) moonshot!

When JFK told us we'd get to the moon within 10 years, it was an ask within a promise.

The ask was to the engineers and other essential personnel at NASA:
​Can you do this?
Can you find a way??

The need was urgent. (The USSR was running away with the Space Race.)

The person asking was respected.

It worked.

Going to the moon was the original moonshot.

The same dynamics are at play for fundraisers.

Think big.

Ask big.

If the need is real and they respect you (which they do; they're already your donors) then it all comes down to a person's means and philanthropy plans.

Please don't limit yourself to smaller asks.

Here's one way Charity: Water does it...

What you can't see here is the interface showing typical giving options. Those are "off screen," not captured in this screenshot.

But what I hope you noticed is the last part, "Give $3,769.15 to complete this water project".

Maybe no one chooses the option. Very possible.

But maybe they do!

You don't know if you don't ask!

Below is another way to make a moonshot fundraising ask, this time in a holiday gift catalog, created for a client.
​
(Note that the catalog featured a range of items donors could help support, as low as $20.)

Try it!

Don't miss your fundraising moonshot(s)!!

Randomly yours

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

• Fundraisingly Informative — Avoid recessive orange & other warnings by Tom Ahern (a quick and highly helpful fundraising copy review checklist and breakdown of a fundraising newsletter and how to improve it)​
  ​
• Fully Board — minutemojo (a free resource library and practical guides on board minutes and related board topics/issues)
  ​
• Perfectly Named — Nominative Determinism via wikipedia (useful terminology for when a person's name matches their line of work; e.g., Daniel Snowman, author of a book on polar explorations)

Until next time: May you always remember to aim high, and sometimes land there!

Grateful,

Julie Cooper & Brett Cooper
(and dog Charlie)
Fundraising Copywriters​
​FundraisingWriting.com​
​Fundraising Copywriting & Design​​
​100% human, thank you very much.

PS: Want to get going on your year-end fundraising? A gift catalog of your own perhaps? 🎁 Or maybe you'd like to start chatting about 2027? Book a free 30-minute call. We'd love to jump on a Zoom with you.