Don’t Ask for a Gift in Direct Mail Fundraising Letters

By Alan Sharpe, CFRE
My wife can still remember the name of her math teacher from grade four. You know why? Because he, um, paused every few words, and ah, ahhhhh, you know, ahh, added an ahh to what he was saying, ah, so that Ruth, was driven to, um, distraction.

You may be repeating his error in your fundraising letters by using the same word over and over again, a habit that is likely to drive your donors to distraction, which, nowadays, seems to be American Idol.

The offending word is “give” and its noun form “gift.” Followed by its first cousin “donate” and its noun form “donation.” If your donation request letters are typical, you repeat yourself throughout your letters by asking the donor to give or to donate, to mail you a gift or a donation.

My advice, which bears repeating, is to stop, um, repeating yourself so much. Juggle things up a bit. Here’s how.

INVEST
Can you help us this year? Your investment of $25 helps one family. Your check for $50 helps twice as many.

CONTRIBUTE
Please contribute now with $25 to help one family with a beautiful, encouraging Christmas Hamper.

SUPPLY
Will you kindly supply the funds we need to buy one Christmas Hamper for a needy family?

SUPPORT
Please support our Christmas Hamper program now using the enclosed reply form and postage-paid envelope.

HELP
I’m asking for your financial help because 100 local families need a Christmas Hamper this year. Please send your gift today.

BUY
Your check for $25 buys joy for one family. Your check for $50 buys twice as much. You get the idea!

If you work hard at making your asks original, your donors will do something original in return. Give you a donation.

Handbook Number 6 101 Compelling Ways to Ask for Donations with Your Fundraising Letters. The professional fundraiser’s guide to mastering the art of making the ask.

The Fundraisers’ Book of Quotations. Inspire and motivate your donors with over 2,700 quips, proverbs, aphorisms, witticisms, zingers, epigrams, quotes, one-liners and words of wisdom from actors, writers, activists, philanthropists, artists, scientists, philosophers, poets, humorists, novelists, inventors, journalists, kings, queens, magnates, presidents, dissidents, preachers, paupers and others, famous and infamous, living and dead.