08
2020
End of Year Appeal Letters
Did you know many people don’t read most of your end of year appeal letter? They skim. This means you need to make sure your key points are in the most skimmed area, and are direct and actionable. Letter writing for fundraising appeals can feel daunting and high stakes, especially this year. I find the most success is writing my letters based on how I would want to receive them. Not too dry and stuffy, not alarmist and above all make them engaging, make me want to keep reading. They should be about me, the reader and my relationship with…
15
2015
Guest Post – A Nickel Sent Was A Nickel Wasted (Almost)
By Jim Thalhuber I received a solicitation in the mail today from a well-known national nonprofit organization and there it was, peeping through the small, round window on the front of the envelope — a shiny, brand new 2015 “Return to Monticello” nickel, minted in Denver, bearing an image of President Thomas Jefferson (based on the Rembrandt Peal painting of 1800) on the obverse and the 1938 restored design of Jefferson’s Virginia home of Monticello on the reverse. I trust/hope that the soliciting nonprofit organization has done its homework and can prove that the nickel gambit is effective in securing new…