4 Qualities of Effective Fundraising Appeals
I’ve written my fair share of appeals, and I’ve read plenty more (as many as I can get my hands on). In our increasingly digital world, the printed appeal letter is still an important strategy for engaging donors and inspiring support—as long as it’s done well.
So, what are the qualities that make for the best appeals? Here are a few that have stood out for me:
They celebrate unique aspects of your organization.
The best appeals are differentiated. This is simultaneously the most obvious, important, and difficult aspect of every fundraising letter. Many colleges and universities, for example, have fundamentally similar missions. This doesn’t mean their appeals have to sound the same.
One way to identify and communicate your differentiators is by establishing a strong sense of your brand. This is best achieved by creating a comprehensive messaging platform for all your public-facing communications.
You can also differentiate your communications by pointing to specific, unique programs or initiatives that donors can support, or by surfacing the voices of individuals who have benefited or stand to benefit from philanthropic efforts. For example, instead of saying that a gift will support financial aid for deserving students, share the personal story of a real life student whose life was changed by a donor’s generosity.
They are rooted in the present.
Compelling appeals feel timely and urgent. They remind readers that their support is important—not in general, but right now.
This doesn’t mean your appeal should be about the month’s top trend on X. Instead, think about what is happening at your organization and in your community at this moment in time and connect that thread back to the role of philanthropy. A theater company might talk about how donor support enabled the innovative staging of their upcoming show. A health care organization might talk about a recent patient success story and the donor-funded program behind it.
Focusing on the here and now also helps ensure that this year’s appeal sounds different from last year’s, reinforcing the idea that your donors’ support continues to be as important as ever.
They work on rational and emotional levels.
onors are motivated by a variety of factors, including their personal beliefs, priorities, and experiences, as well as the association they have with your organization. One way that we at Libretto try to manage these complex associations is by organizing them along a spectrum ranging from the “rational” to the “emotional.”
A rational argument might allude to the donor’s return on investment, while an emotional argument might describe a specific individual whose life was changed by philanthropy. Neither end of the spectrum is better or worse than the other; they simply represent different ways of engaging with philanthropy.
You’ll need to ensure the scales of this framework are calibrated according to your unique audience. However, the most successful appeals speak to donors at both ends of the rational–emotional spectrum. Hitting this mark will enable you to engage the broadest possible range of potential donors.
They have an explicit call-to-action.
There’s no reason to be coy. Successful letters are upfront about the need for a financial gift, and often include a straightforward call to action in multiple locations.
For example, a common best practice is to include a direct ask, in bold, as a stand-alone paragraph. This ensures that everyone who opens the letter understands what they’re being asked for—even if they read nothing else.
When making an ask, try to frame requests in terms of positives rather than negatives. It’s possible to motivate donors by telling them about the terrible things that will happen if they don’t give, but it’s far more effective to explain to a donor what amazing results can be achieved if they do.
