5 C’s Tips for Great Fundraising Copy

It’s Not About You!

This is the most important rule… and also the hardest to follow.

It’s not about YOU!

What does that mean for your nonprofit fundraising?

Know Thy Customer, or in your case, Know Thy Donor! Find out their deepest needs, fears, desires & joys… and focus your content on solving them!

Most companies, nonprofits included, tend to talk about how great they are – “we provide life-saving medication for millions of children in Africa” or “our award-winning arts program brings art to inner-city children.”

Truth? Donors don’t care how great you think you are. They only want to know how they can help solve whatever problem you’ve put in front of them.

Focus the content on how they will benefit from how great you are at what you do!

Show Donors Why They Should Support Your Cause.

You are competing for your donor’s attention, care and, yes, their dollars.

If you don’t stand out, there are millions of other charities they could support, instead.

How do you do that? Show, don’t Tell!

Tell them a sad story: Stories are your greatest tool. And nonprofits have wonderful, emotional, heart-wrenching stories to tell. Choose one great story about one single person… and tell the donor how they can help make their life better.

Include Social Proof: Testimonials and powerful case studies to show why you’re the BEST nonprofit to solve a specific issue. Social proof – what others say about you – is more powerful than what you say about yourself.

Make it Clear.

“Make what clear,” you ask? Everything!

Every direct mail letter, website page, email, brochure… every word should make it easy for your donor to know what you do, for whom… and how to get involved.

Here’s a few basic tips to get you started:

Website navigation: You might also hear this called UX Design, or the most user-friendly way visitors move around your website. If it’s too complicated, visitors get frustrated and leave… forever!

Easy to scan: This applies to everything you write, but especially websites and Direct Mail letters. Use lots of white space, headlines, subheads & bullet points. Donors will scan pages looking for keywords to determine if they’ve found what they need.

KISS (Keep it Simple, Silly!): Use simple words. Avoid jargon like the plague! And feel free to break any and all grammar rules… if it gets your point across fast!

Include a Call-to-Action on Every Page.

Ask them to do something! Train your visitors to participate on your website and email series.

Have them click a link in the text… complete a survey… make a donation… ask for more information… fill out a contact form…

The options are endless! Encourage engagement and start a conversation!

Go with the flow! Consistency is your friend.

Consistent language, logos & colors across all your marketing channels builds trust and recognition for your brand.

Every web page, email, or ad used to market your business should look and feel like part of a whole.

Use the same fonts and colors… Simple navigation… Logical and smooth copy… Appropriate images…

With One Big EXCEPTION: Fundraising direct mail letter packs can, and SHOULD, break all these rules.

You want your fundraising letter to stand out from the crowd… but remember – fundraising is not about YOU, the organization. It’s all about the donor. 

How do you do that, you ask?

• Leave your logo off the envelope and (sometimes) the enclosed letter… first, it creates mystery that may inspire the curiosity needed to open your letter in the first place. And second, it gives you the chance to really make the letter All About the Donor.
• Use colors that speak to the donor… not the ones used for Brand Identity. No matter what your professional marketing guru says about keeping your messaging ‘consistent’ across all channels.
• Liberal use of the word ‘YOU’ sends donors the single most important message of any fundraising campaign… “You are Needed. Right Now.”