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Member You - Fundraising Letters: Where To Find Creative Ideas For Your Appeals
Do you have what it takes to get hired for travel nursing jobs? More importantly, are travel nursing jobs really the door of opportunity you’re waiting for or does it simply lead to a more undesirable path? Make sure that you’ve researched completely and made a lot of soul-searching first before making a final decision.What Makes an Individual Eligible for Travel Nursing Jobs?Just because you want to have a travel nursing job doesn’t automatically mean your wish will be immediately granted. Just like any other job, travel nursing opportunities are only offered to those who meet the criteria the employer or agency is looking for.In terms of experience certain travel nursing jobs will require applicants to have the necessary experience before they can be hired. If you’re o
Milestones
Is your organization celebrating a 10th or 100th anniversary? Then you have the ingredients for a compelling appeal, provided you link past successes with your plans for the coming months and years. Have you just served your millionth meal? Or planted 500,000 trees as of this week? Translate your milestones into compelling proof that your organization needs your donors’ continued support, then put your proof on paper in the form of a persuasive fundraising package theme and mail it.
Recent successes
Similar to milestones are recent successes. One organization I wrote for won the Nobel Peace Prize. That became a theme for one mailing. Another organization I know of retired their debt early, and announced the fact with an appeal for funds.
The key to keeping your fundraising letters engaging and a joy to read with each passing year is to present your work in new ways. As Foster put it, “to come up with the same thing only different.” And the be
At 8.30 am a wealthy client (on his way to make a presentation to the local council at 9 am) walked into a store that sells photocopiers. They also provide a copy service. He wanted to make a back-up copy of his lengthy presentation.The shop appeared to be open - doors unlocked, lights on, etc but the young lady who met him said she couldn't do photocopies until 9 am because that's when the copy centre opened for business.He went two doors down the road to the Council Library and did them himself at 10 cents per page, spending $11.00.Guess where he won't look for his next copier?Two men walked into a bakery / coffee shop at 4.45 pm and asked for two coffees and two slices of cake. They were told they could only have the cake to take-away as the shop closed at 5 an
Jack Foster spent 35 years working in creative departments of advertising agencies in the United States. One of his challenges was doing the advertising for Smokey Bear. Here’s how he describes his predicament:
The first thing the writers and art directors had to do every year was come up with a basic poster.
The rules for the poster never varied: It had to be a certain shape and size; it had to feature Smokey; it had to be simple enough to grasp at a glance, clear enough for even a dunce to understand, and (if it had words) brief enough to be read in three or four seconds.
The mission of the poster never varied either: It had to convince people to be careful with fire.
In other words, every year we had to come up with the same thing only different.
And we did. Indeed, every year we came up with 20 of 30 different ideas for posters. Every year. For over 20 years. Over 500 posters, all featuring Smokey and all trying to do the same thing and not a one of them the same.
I faced similar challenges when I worked at advertising agencies as a copywriter, and as a freelance copywriter for direct response agencies that create fundraising letters for international non-profits. The work was tough, but I discovered that writers and art directors could indeed create original fundraising appeals year after year for the same clients who needed money for the same things.
Here are some lessons I learned along the way, tips that will help you present your case for support to your donors in creative ways over time. The secret is knowing where to look for ideas. Here’s where I look.
Challenges in the field
One place to look for original ideas is the field. If your charity is involved with child welfare, then your “field” may be the homes of your foster parents. If you are a small but international humanitarian organization, then the “field” for you is the towns and villages where you operate overseas. As you sit down to create a brand new appeal letter, look to your field and ask yourself what challenges you are facing. These challenges can often be translated into a compelling ask. Let me give you an example.
Doctors Without Borders is an international aid organization that sends volunteer doctors and nurses to places where no medical infrastructure exists, usually because of war or natural disasters. Since they never know where the next tsunami or civil war will strike, they need to have sufficient funds on hand at all times so they can respond quickly to a humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world. This means their fundraising letters must ask for funds for no particular emergency, but for emergencies in general. A tough challenge.
Doctors Without Borders has met this challenge year after year in creative ways. Here is just one. They realized that they often sent their volunteers into emergency situations that were created by water. Either there was a flood or there was a drought. Either there was too much water or not enough. In a brilliant move, Doctors Without Borders crafted an original fundraising package that presented this global need. They told their story in such a way that the need was obviously great, though not necessarily looming.
Donors who received the appeal understood that Doctors Without Borders needed funds on hand to meet the challenge of floods or droughts at anytime. But they also understood that their gift to the organization might be used to help victims of a cholera epidemic, or people displaced by a civil war. By looking to a challenge faced in the field, Doctors Without Borders created a memorable fundraising letter campaign that did nothing more than raise money for their general fund in a novel way.
Your frontline staff
Another source of creative ideas for fundraising letters is your staff, particularly those at the front lines of your ministry. The men and women who carry out your work face to face with the public have dozens of stories to tell about the needs that your organization meets and the people it helps. Many of these needs can be translated into an appeal, not for a special project, but a request for general funds to meet a given need. Here’s an example.
In talking with the staff of a ministry that works with inmates in Canada’s prisons, I discovered that most inmates have a problem with anger. Their tempers often land them in prison. And, while inside, they grow even more angry. As you can imagine, a compelling theme for an appeal letter would be inmate anger, and how a donor’s gift supplies the funds that this prison ministry needs to help inmates conquer their anger and lead productive lives upon release.
Milestones
Is your organization celebrating a 10th or 100th anniversary? Then you have the ingredients for a compelling appeal, provided you link past successes with your plans for the coming months and years. Have you just served your millionth meal? Or planted 500,000 trees as of this week? Translate your milestones into compelling proof that your organization needs your donors’ continued support, then put your proof on paper in the form of a persuasive fundraising package theme and mail it.
Recent successes
Similar to milestones are recent successes. One organization I wrote for won the Nobel Peace Prize. That became a theme for one mailing. Another organization I know of retired their debt early, and announced the fact with an appeal for funds.
The key to keeping your fundraising letters engaging and a joy to read with each passing year is to present your work in new ways. As Foster put it, “to come up with the same thing only different.” And the be
It’s not uncommon to reach your 30s, 40s or even 50s and still wonder, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” Few people are fortunate enough to be certain of their destinies early on and the rest of us are forced to do some soul searching.The desire to own a business is becoming more common as workers grow more frustrated with the economy and working in corporate America. If you’re thinking about a business of your own but you’re not sure what to start, here are several exercise to spark some ideas.Start by Making Lists of Your Interests, Talents, and SkillsWrite down what you like and don’t like about your current job and jobs you’ve had in the past. Do you love writing business documents? Do you hate calculating numbers? By listing your likes and dislikes, you
And we did. Indeed, every year we came up with 20 of 30 different ideas for posters. Every year. For over 20 years. Over 500 posters, all featuring Smokey and all trying to do the same thing and not a one of them the same.
I faced similar challenges when I worked at advertising agencies as a copywriter, and as a freelance copywriter for direct response agencies that create fundraising letters for international non-profits. The work was tough, but I discovered that writers and art directors could indeed create original fundraising appeals year after year for the same clients who needed money for the same things.
Here are some lessons I learned along the way, tips that will help you present your case for support to your donors in creative ways over time. The secret is knowing where to look for ideas. Here’s where I look.
Challenges in the field
One place to look for original ideas is the field. If your charity is involved with child welfare, then your “field” may be the homes of your foster parents. If you are a small but international humanitarian organization, then the “field” for you is the towns and villages where you operate overseas. As you sit down to create a brand new appeal letter, look to your field and ask yourself what challenges you are facing. These challenges can often be translated into a compelling ask. Let me give you an example.
Doctors Without Borders is an international aid organization that sends volunteer doctors and nurses to places where no medical infrastructure exists, usually because of war or natural disasters. Since they never know where the next tsunami or civil war will strike, they need to have sufficient funds on hand at all times so they can respond quickly to a humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world. This means their fundraising letters must ask for funds for no particular emergency, but for emergencies in general. A tough challenge.
Doctors Without Borders has met this challenge year after year in creative ways. Here is just one. They realized that they often sent their volunteers into emergency situations that were created by water. Either there was a flood or there was a drought. Either there was too much water or not enough. In a brilliant move, Doctors Without Borders crafted an original fundraising package that presented this global need. They told their story in such a way that the need was obviously great, though not necessarily looming.
Donors who received the appeal understood that Doctors Without Borders needed funds on hand to meet the challenge of floods or droughts at anytime. But they also understood that their gift to the organization might be used to help victims of a cholera epidemic, or people displaced by a civil war. By looking to a challenge faced in the field, Doctors Without Borders created a memorable fundraising letter campaign that did nothing more than raise money for their general fund in a novel way.
Your frontline staff
Another source of creative ideas for fundraising letters is your staff, particularly those at the front lines of your ministry. The men and women who carry out your work face to face with the public have dozens of stories to tell about the needs that your organization meets and the people it helps. Many of these needs can be translated into an appeal, not for a special project, but a request for general funds to meet a given need. Here’s an example.
In talking with the staff of a ministry that works with inmates in Canada’s prisons, I discovered that most inmates have a problem with anger. Their tempers often land them in prison. And, while inside, they grow even more angry. As you can imagine, a compelling theme for an appeal letter would be inmate anger, and how a donor’s gift supplies the funds that this prison ministry needs to help inmates conquer their anger and lead productive lives upon release.
Milestones
Is your organization celebrating a 10th or 100th anniversary? Then you have the ingredients for a compelling appeal, provided you link past successes with your plans for the coming months and years. Have you just served your millionth meal? Or planted 500,000 trees as of this week? Translate your milestones into compelling proof that your organization needs your donors’ continued support, then put your proof on paper in the form of a persuasive fundraising package theme and mail it.
Recent successes
Similar to milestones are recent successes. One organization I wrote for won the Nobel Peace Prize. That became a theme for one mailing. Another organization I know of retired their debt early, and announced the fact with an appeal for funds.
The key to keeping your fundraising letters engaging and a joy to read with each passing year is to present your work in new ways. As Foster put it, “to come up with the same thing only different.” And the be
The overwhelming disparity in riches between third world countries and the more developed nations has never been more poignant that in today’s modern society. While the technology exists, in the form of rapid strides in nanotechnology, its access is limited to and concentrated on the more affluent power brokers of the world.The innovative strides in nanotechnology have the potential control poverty, eliminate hunger, and provide safer and cleaner water for the poor as well as providing a ready cure for tropical diseases in those areas where human suffering is the hallmark of existence.But, will this technology ever reach those who need it the most? This is the burning question that must be addressed by the controlling agents within the government, military and private sectors.
Doctors Without Borders is an international aid organization that sends volunteer doctors and nurses to places where no medical infrastructure exists, usually because of war or natural disasters. Since they never know where the next tsunami or civil war will strike, they need to have sufficient funds on hand at all times so they can respond quickly to a humanitarian crisis anywhere in the world. This means their fundraising letters must ask for funds for no particular emergency, but for emergencies in general. A tough challenge.
Doctors Without Borders has met this challenge year after year in creative ways. Here is just one. They realized that they often sent their volunteers into emergency situations that were created by water. Either there was a flood or there was a drought. Either there was too much water or not enough. In a brilliant move, Doctors Without Borders crafted an original fundraising package that presented this global need. They told their story in such a way that the need was obviously great, though not necessarily looming.
Donors who received the appeal understood that Doctors Without Borders needed funds on hand to meet the challenge of floods or droughts at anytime. But they also understood that their gift to the organization might be used to help victims of a cholera epidemic, or people displaced by a civil war. By looking to a challenge faced in the field, Doctors Without Borders created a memorable fundraising letter campaign that did nothing more than raise money for their general fund in a novel way.
Your frontline staff
Another source of creative ideas for fundraising letters is your staff, particularly those at the front lines of your ministry. The men and women who carry out your work face to face with the public have dozens of stories to tell about the needs that your organization meets and the people it helps. Many of these needs can be translated into an appeal, not for a special project, but a request for general funds to meet a given need. Here’s an example.
In talking with the staff of a ministry that works with inmates in Canada’s prisons, I discovered that most inmates have a problem with anger. Their tempers often land them in prison. And, while inside, they grow even more angry. As you can imagine, a compelling theme for an appeal letter would be inmate anger, and how a donor’s gift supplies the funds that this prison ministry needs to help inmates conquer their anger and lead productive lives upon release.
Milestones
Is your organization celebrating a 10th or 100th anniversary? Then you have the ingredients for a compelling appeal, provided you link past successes with your plans for the coming months and years. Have you just served your millionth meal? Or planted 500,000 trees as of this week? Translate your milestones into compelling proof that your organization needs your donors’ continued support, then put your proof on paper in the form of a persuasive fundraising package theme and mail it.
Recent successes
Similar to milestones are recent successes. One organization I wrote for won the Nobel Peace Prize. That became a theme for one mailing. Another organization I know of retired their debt early, and announced the fact with an appeal for funds.
The key to keeping your fundraising letters engaging and a joy to read with each passing year is to present your work in new ways. As Foster put it, “to come up with the same thing only different.” And the be
These days, the internet seems to be the source for nearly everything. From fitness and diets to love relationships to gardening to buying a car, you'll find all sorts of information online that's available with a few simple clicks. Yup, internet coaching is a strong force online and you could be part of it.If you feel it in your bones that you were meant to share what you know online, you'll need to know if it's right for you. And if it is, you might want to know how to do it. Here are a few tips to point you in the right direction:Ask yourself…Do I have the expertise? Just because you studied psychology in high school doesn’t mean you're qualified to coach. You'll need to have enough skills and experience in your chosen field to actually do it. You don’t necessa
Donors who received the appeal understood that Doctors Without Borders needed funds on hand to meet the challenge of floods or droughts at anytime. But they also understood that their gift to the organization might be used to help victims of a cholera epidemic, or people displaced by a civil war. By looking to a challenge faced in the field, Doctors Without Borders created a memorable fundraising letter campaign that did nothing more than raise money for their general fund in a novel way.
Your frontline staff
Another source of creative ideas for fundraising letters is your staff, particularly those at the front lines of your ministry. The men and women who carry out your work face to face with the public have dozens of stories to tell about the needs that your organization meets and the people it helps. Many of these needs can be translated into an appeal, not for a special project, but a request for general funds to meet a given need. Here’s an example.
In talking with the staff of a ministry that works with inmates in Canada’s prisons, I discovered that most inmates have a problem with anger. Their tempers often land them in prison. And, while inside, they grow even more angry. As you can imagine, a compelling theme for an appeal letter would be inmate anger, and how a donor’s gift supplies the funds that this prison ministry needs to help inmates conquer their anger and lead productive lives upon release.
Milestones
Is your organization celebrating a 10th or 100th anniversary? Then you have the ingredients for a compelling appeal, provided you link past successes with your plans for the coming months and years. Have you just served your millionth meal? Or planted 500,000 trees as of this week? Translate your milestones into compelling proof that your organization needs your donors’ continued support, then put your proof on paper in the form of a persuasive fundraising package theme and mail it.
Recent successes
Similar to milestones are recent successes. One organization I wrote for won the Nobel Peace Prize. That became a theme for one mailing. Another organization I know of retired their debt early, and announced the fact with an appeal for funds.
The key to keeping your fundraising letters engaging and a joy to read with each passing year is to present your work in new ways. As Foster put it, “to come up with the same thing only different.” And the be
If you have your own small business, it's important to decide exactly who you will be marketing your products or services to. After all, you probably don't have the time or the money to market to everyone. And even if you did, it is not recommended.You'll want to select what is called a "target audience." This is an identifiable group of people you believe will be the best prospects for your business.But for many small business owners, narrowing their focus to one primary group of people can be a challenging task. They want to help everyone — and very often their product or service CAN help a variety of people.It also goes against human nature to narrow your focus in order to grow a business. Common sense seems to tell us if we want to grow our business big, we need to a
Milestones
Is your organization celebrating a 10th or 100th anniversary? Then you have the ingredients for a compelling appeal, provided you link past successes with your plans for the coming months and years. Have you just served your millionth meal? Or planted 500,000 trees as of this week? Translate your milestones into compelling proof that your organization needs your donors’ continued support, then put your proof on paper in the form of a persuasive fundraising package theme and mail it.
Recent successes
Similar to milestones are recent successes. One organization I wrote for won the Nobel Peace Prize. That became a theme for one mailing. Another organization I know of retired their debt early, and announced the fact with an appeal for funds.
The key to keeping your fundraising letters engaging and a joy to read with each passing year is to present your work in new ways. As Foster put it, “to come up with the same thing only different.” And the best places to look for those creative ideas are your clients, volunteers and staff, and the challenges they face each day in carrying out your mission.
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