Fundraising gift catalogs are a fantastic way to highlight various needs and raise more money. And you don't need to wait for the holidays... This is the 163rd Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can ​subscribe here for free.)​ In this issue: ✅ You can embed a fundraising "mini gift catalog" in your appeals ✅ 3 weeks from tomorrow... ✅ Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you Wednesday, March 5, 2025 Hi Reader, When I was a kid, we'd get Sears and JCPenney catalogs in the mail, and omg, they blew my mind. This was our Internet before the Internet. I cradled those catalogs lovingly in my hot little hands. On every page, I could be a different person — with my very own Cabbage Patch Kids doll or rainbow leg warmers or Sony Walkman... Magic. Guess what? Catalogs are still magic... except now, bonus, they're nostalgic too. Even though I'm younger than the average donor (who is 65 years old), I already experience catalogs as deeply nostalgic — and nostalgia is the ultimate warm-fuzzy. I think this is why year-end fundraising gift catalogs often perform so well. Brett and I highly recommend them. Donors love to be generous in a nostalgic context. Also... You can embed a fundraising "mini gift catalog" in your appealsWe've had great results. In a springtime emergency appeal for a client, we adapted the fundraising gift catalog idea by using a table (shown below) to highlight the urgent need for equipment at a new birthing center our client would soon be opening in Uganda. Instead of the usual ASK approach, we formulated an "URGENT" needs list — embedded within the 4-page letter — showing exactly what the donor's gift could provide. Here's why it worked beautifully:
YES! I want to help stock the new birthing centre with essential, life-saving medical equipment and supplies. Please use matching funds to double my impact and use my gift where it's needed most for mothers and babies.
The response exceeded targets. Donors eagerly funded all of the needed life-saving items for the birthing center's opening. ​To see the full appeal pack, click here.​ Have you tried embedding a mini gift catalog in your appeals? If so, Brett and I would love to hear about your experience. Please hit reply to respond to this email and let us know how it went! 3 weeks from tomorrow...If your donor newsletters are not yet where you know they deserve to be, maybe mark your calendar for March 27, 2025 ... and join fundraising legend Tom Ahern (and Lisa Sargent during the bottomless Q&A session!) for this once-in-2025 webinar: ​Retention’s Best Friend​: Donor Newsletters & Other Irresistible Thank-Yous​ Imagine your newsletter not just informing donors, but igniting loyalty and driving 317% more revenue — as it did for a Catholic diocese. Or generating $2M annually for a homeless shelter. These aren’t flukes. Tom will show you exactly how to transform your newsletter into a donor-centric powerhouse, using proven strategies that boost retention, harvest gifts, and skyrocket lifetime value. In just 1.5 hours (not counting the Q&A session, which often lasts another 2-3 hours, depending on audience questions), you’ll learn:​
Plus: Real case studies, CFRE credits (1.5 points), and our "All-You-Can-Eat Q&A". Are you unable to attend live? No worries! You’ll get the full video recording + slides within 24 hours of the webinar's ending. Why act now?​ 👉 Reserve YOUR SPOT Now​ Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge youFor your brain, heart, and funny bone...
Until next time: May all your appeals infuse nostalgia-level "magic" and connects donors’ hearts to urgent needs they can help meet. With gratitude, ​ P.S. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Click here to sign up for your own free weekly subscription. |
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...