Category Archives: donor psychology
Should a fundraising appeal be a polemic raging against poverty, animal abuse, or whatever the cause is?
Not necessarily. A fundraising letter is, first and foremost, a letter. Sure, there are times when the right tone is outrage. But even then, your letter still should read like a letter from one person to another. Not an essay. … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology
Tagged behavior, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit
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How to get donors to really lean into a fundraising appeal
To engage your readers, you want to pull your ideas down from the ether and express them through the things of the world. Copy that’s abstract won’t grab donors. Verbal images will. A verbal image is different from a story. … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, nonprofit
Tagged advertising, behavior, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, donors, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit
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Why you DON’T want your donors to be readers of your fundraising appeals
You see it in a lot of fundraising appeals. The first few sentences of the letter force the donor into the position of being a passive reader as opposed to being a participant. The appeal might open with a discussion … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Uncategorized
Tagged advertising, behavior, charity, copywriting, donors, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, nonprofit
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Are your appeals up in the air or down to earth?
Specifics sell. It’s true in commercial marketing, and it’s certainly true in direct response fundraising. You see a lot of abstract concepts in fundraising appeals like ‘stand with us,’ ‘make a difference,’ and ‘send hope.’ What do those vague notions … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology
Tagged advertising, behavior, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing
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How to harness the power of good to make your fundraising appeals better
Many nonprofits aren’t giving donors what they want. And then those same nonprofits wonder why donors aren’t giving them what THEY want – donations. Donors want a whole range of things in exchange for their gifts. One of those things … Continue reading
When not to use a freemium in direct mail fundraising
Why would a nonprofit tout their stewardship of donors’ money in an appeal and then throw in a bunch of free stuff? Not sure. But that’s what this one did. The appeal is from an international aid and relief charity. … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged advertising, behavior, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, marketing, news, nonprofit
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How two nonprofits are reacting in the Trump era
Lately, many nonprofits are finding that they have to worry about something they never even considered before. Sure, they had the usual worries about donor attrition, revenue, acquisition, retention, and so on. But now, on top of all that, they … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, nonprofit
Tagged advertising, behavior, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, donors, fundraising, music, news, nonprofit, poetry, politics, writing
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Could this be write for fundraising?
Emotion – not logic – is what moves donors to give, right? Then why do you see appeals based on logical arguments all the time? It’s probably because that’s how we were all taught to write. With deductive reasoning. You … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged art, behavior, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, logic, marketing, nonprofit, philosophy
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Are you leaving your donors stranded?
There’s a strange disconnect that you see in a lot of fundraising appeals. The appeal starts off heading in one direction, then suddenly leaves donors stranded and wondering what happened. Here’s an example. In this appeal, for a charity that … Continue reading
Posted in copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising
Tagged behavior, charity, copywriting, donor psychology, fundraising, Fundraising copywriting, nonprofit
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Your donors need to feel like they belong
Fundraising appeals often fail to convey a sense of belonging to donors. That’s too bad. It means nonprofits are missing out on a major reason why donors give. Donors want to feel like they belong. They want to feel like … Continue reading
Fundraising Copywriter George Crankovic 