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 to... Lead with ❤️.It's not just that your donors will care more and give more if you use your fundraising stories to put a face and a heart on the problem. It's that you can lose your donors if you lead with something other than heart. (We've made this mistake before. You don't need to do the same!) Once your fundraising story is written and your problem "has a face," highlight it right away so your every donor can feel it in their heart. 1.) E.g., in the Johnson Box at the top of your direct mail appeal letter: “It hurts the most when it’s rainy. That’s when I’m crawling on my knees.” Would you please be there for a homeless senior like Fred? Here, Fred is the face of an important problem. Already you can feel it in your heart.​ 2.) E.g., on your direct mail outer envelope:
INSIDE: Read all about a San Diego senior who calls herself a “lucky duck” even after being attacked on the street, twice . . .
Here, though you don't yet know her name, this "lucky duck" of a senior woman is the face of an important problem. Already you can feel it in your heart. ​ Subject Line: When 5 small children lost their mom at Christmas… ​ Preview Text: Everything fell on their father. He was not ready. Here, this poor father is the face of an important problem. Already you can feel it in your heart. You want your donors to open your emails, open your direct mail letters, and read your appeals. So give them a face for your every important problem, and lead with it so they can immediately feel the urgency in their heart. Plot twist: your donors' hearts may grow 3 sizes that day! Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge youFor your brain, heart, and funny bone...
Until next time: May you always remember the importance of making the abstract specific, asap, so your donors can really see the problem and feel the urgency. 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.
Sing it! This is the 177th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.) Wednesday, August 27, 2025 Hi Reader, For a long time, I really did not like country music. Then I came across the classic country station "Willie's Roadhouse" on Sirius XM, and I started paying attention to the lyrics. Tears flowed. My heart swelled and broke and swelled again. Now I know what before I did not: some of the...
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...
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...