August 9, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
NEW BOOKS
How to Write Fundraising Materials That Raise More Money
by Tom Ahern
“Where donor communications are concerned, assume the worst. Assume they won’t work,” urges Tom Ahern, a consultant in fund-raising communications. “Assume even your donors will ignore you most of the time. You’ll be close to the truth.”
But, he writes, that is simply because most people are bombarded by news media, direct mail, and other demands on their time and interest — and the onus is on the organization to catch donors’ attention. To help charities do that, Mr. Ahern offers advice on crafting fund-raising materials that stand out and are “donor-centric.”
Thirty-nine short chapters discuss answering frequently asked questions, writing interesting headlines for newsletters, understanding donor psychology, conveying why an organization matters, constructing to-the-point sentences, and other aspects of writing appeals.
One chapter lists seven “emotional triggers” that fund raisers can use in their messages to provoke a desired response in the reader: anger, exclusivity, fear, flattery, greed, guilt, and salvation.
“Apply the cardinal question to everything you write: ‘Why would a donor care?’” Mr. Ahern writes. “The donor doesn’t much care how the machinery runs, but does much care about why your programs matter to the community or the world.”
Publisher: Emerson & Church, P.O. Box 338, Medfield, Mass. 02052; (508) 359-0019; fax (508) 359-2703; http://www.emersonandchurch.com; 187 pages; $24.95; ISBN 978-1-889102-31-3.
