The Fundraiser’s Toolbox
You know that fundraising is hard work. To be successful you need to be well equipped to take on all its challenges. At SOFII, we thought you might like some help. So we’ve put together this fundraiser’s toolbox that we’ll be filling with essential examples, formats, articles, case studies, ideas and tips that we think every fundraiser should know about.
Fundraising ethics – raise more money while keeping your donors happy. What could be simpler? Part two.
by Ian MacQuillin
In the second part of his blog on fundraising ethics, Rogare’s Ian MacQuillin looks at a couple of ethical dilemmas. The solutions are anything but black and white.
Read moreTutorial 9: the reply envelope.
by Jerry Huntsinger
If you want to raise money – make sure you include a reply envelope. There are several decisions you need to make and each decision affects the type of package you’ll be creating.
Read moreTutorial 10: Pavlov’s dog and fundraising letters.
by Jerry Huntsinger
It was an experiment that the Humane Society might object to these days. A group of psychologists, including Nobel prize-winner Ivan Pavlov, took a dog and put him in a cage, rang a bell and gave him something to eat. Then they fooled the poor animal by ringing the bell, but not giving him anything to eat. So what did he do?
Read moreTutorial 11: how to design a fundraising letter: the function of design.
by Jerry Huntsinger
Letters are not supposed to be pretty or attractive, or large or small, or long or short, or colourful or stylish... they are supposed to be read. That’s all.
Read moreTutorial 12: principles of layout.
by Jerry Huntsinger
There are four critical principles: space importance, eye movement, right dominance, and horizontal and vertical lines.
Read moreTutorial 13: the PS: how to have the final word.
by Jerry Huntsinger
Your PS is a vital selling tool – just as important as the headline. In fact, the PS is often the first and last words your donors read! Why? Human nature, I guess. A postscript arouses curiosity. It’s irresistible.
Read moreTutorial 14: how to communicate with photographs.
by Jerry Huntsinger
If ‘a picture is worth a thousands words’ why do nonprofits persist in creating appeals with 2,000 words, or more, with no pictures?
Read moreTutorial 15: creating a chemical reaction.
by Jerry Huntsinger
When you put a letter, a reply card, a reply envelope and an enclosure in a carrier envelope, you are mixing together five separate elements. But suddenly, when they are all in the package, you no longer have five separate items. Instead you have a chemical reaction.
Read moreFundraising ethics – raise more money while keeping your donors happy. What could be simpler? Part one.
by Ian MacQuillin
How do you know what is and isn’t ethical in fundraising? Ian MacQuillin of the Rogare think tank explores this complex issue in this first of two fascinating and timely articles.
Read moreTutorial 16: how to write in a warm personal style.
by Jerry Huntsinger
A professional writer knows that a letter must have more than technical exactness. Personality has to radiate through the words. But what kind of personality?
Read moreTutorial 17: write the way you speak: 10 suggestions.
by Jerry Huntsinger
Psycho-copy is not crazy copy. I’m not always sure how to communicate the deeper levels of a ‘warm and personal’ style to letter writers. Perhaps it has to be caught, rather than taught.
Read moreTutorial 18: magic words: the formula for success.
by Jerry Huntsinger
What do Shakespeare, the Bible, the Gettysburg Address and a successful fundraising letter have in common? Magic words. And what makes certain words magic? Their length. Any common word of five letters or less is magic. Therein lies a formula for success.
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