image of the number 9 with the faces of The Beatles inside it

This is the 185th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can subscribe here for free.)

Wednesday, December 17, 2025

Hi Reader,

I blame The Beatles.

I can hear the number 9 mentioned in passing ... and then hear it on repeat, earworm-style, for the rest of the day.

Somehow, it's not annoying?

(Miss you, John Lennon.)

Anyway, here are our:

Top 9 Fundraising Writing Tips of 2025

#9 — Your donors are drowning in words.

Your donors, like you, are constantly deciding whether or not to pay any attention to the words before them.

They're holding a phone and ready to keep scrolling.

They're sitting at a computer and ready to click 🗑️.

They're standing over the 🗑️, mail in hand.

Our job is to be worth it.

Worth the time to stop scrolling. To click on that subject line. To open that envelope. To read, feel, and act.

(Full newsletter here.)

#8 — Fundraisers should— MOO, interrupting cow!

Every ask feels a bit like the “MOO, interrupting cow!” punchline from the now-classic joke. Yet its importance is no laughing matter.

Don’t be afraid to interrupt. Like this:

screenshot of appeal showing various sections with an ASK labeled MOO! to illustrate how asking requires interrupting

(Full newsletter here.)

#7 — 7 fundraising appeal writing forget-me-nots and 5 what-ifs

For you too, maybe?

Here's a checklist of 7 elements Brett and I for sure do not want to forget when writing a direct mail appeal... plus 5 elements we often think, hmm, maybe this too?:

(Full newsletter here.)

#6 — Please don't "over spice" your fundraising stories

It's a balancing act.

No spice = bland.

Too much spice = inedible.

Sensory details can be very impactful, in the right spot.

What's the right spot?

A moment of climactic tension.

A turning point you want to stress.

Where you want the reader to s-l-o-w-w-w down.

(Full newsletter here.)

#5 — Don’t be afraid to use unexpected quotes and details

Like this quote, which we included in a direct mail appeal:

“Then I was attacked on the street, twice. My back was broken in 7 places. (I’ll spare you the other details.)

But I’m happy! I’m lucky to be alive and to be living here at Potiker Family Senior Residence. I have a roof over my head and a full belly every day. I really am a lucky duck. Quack-quack!!!”

(Full newsletter here.)

#4 — Are you falling into "the AI trap"? (Please no!)

Listen to every voice... in the beginning.

Then empower one voice: the writer's.

Keep feedback as limited as possible.

Good fundraising is a relationship. As with any relationship, your donor comms should feel intimate, like one person talking to another in conversation, authentically, passionately.

Not like a committee.

Not like a group.

Not like an AI.

Please don't fall into that trap!

(Full newsletter here.)

#3 — You can embed a fundraising "mini gift catalog" in your appeals

Like this, which we included in an appeal for a client:

image from an appeal we wrote, wherein we embedded a chart with "needed item" "impact description" "your gift" and "cost after matching funds" with items such as a baby weighing machine and a portable oxygen concentrator

(Full newsletter here.)

#2 — Lead with ❤️.

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 ❤️.

(Full newsletter here.)

#1 — "Don't make it awkward in second period" (do this instead)

As writers, we none too seldom find ourselves appreciating one of her lyrics and raising an imaginary glass in tribute. Cheers, Taylor Swift!

For example, from her song "Ruin the Friendship" on her new album The Life of a Showgirl:

Don't make it awkward in second period

This line is great because it uses the familiar and the specific to quickly, efficiently convey meaning and feeling.

In fundraising, if you don't grab your donors right away, you're in danger of losing them right away.

Here's where you might take inspiration from Taylor Swift.

Like this:

image of Johnson Box with the copy: "She took her baby girl to the nature center./ Her first word was "turtle." / That's the power of our parks. / And today, matching funds DOUBLE your impact!

Familiar: taking a child to a nature center.
Specific: the baby's first word is "turtle."
Meaning: a nature center can change a life.
Feeling: how wonderful; I'd like to be a part of that!

(Full newsletter here.)

Randomly yours

When our fundraising bestie, Rachel Muir asked if she could guest host "Randomly Yours" with some of her favorite things we said YES!

Rachel is a fundraising powerhouse, speaker, and former nonprofit founder. When Rachel Muir isn’t making fundraisers laugh with her relatable stories, she’s leading The League of Extraordinary Fundraisers, where she teaches fundraisers to raise more money in less time.

Without further ado, here are Rachel's picks...

To tickle your funny bone:
😂 Husband wakes up his wife in the middle of the night and makes her think she fell asleep playing Uno

😂 "Duke" the dog who gets in above ground pool ON A WEEKDAY and wants to play Titanic

To warm your fundraising heart:
"Heavyweight" podcast with Jonathan Goldstein. Heavyweight is a podcast about all the emotional junk we've stuffed in the back of our closet to deal with someday. Each episode picks a moment: a regret, an unanswered question living rent-free in your head, and brings it out onto the table with humor, bravery and compassion. It’s funny, awkward and achingly human. My favorite episode is #24 Jimmy and Mark, about some 10 year old boys whose 70's dad encourages them to set out on a 240 mile bicycle trip across 2 states with no adult supervision. 🚴 🚴

Until next time: May the good things you hear come back to you occasionally, in a good way, earworm-style.

Grateful,