March 6, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
NEW BOOKS
Breakthrough Fundraising Letters: How to Write Direct Mail Donation Request Appeals That Attract More Donors, Raise More Money, and Build Stronger Relationships
by Alan Sharpe
“Your fund-raising letters need to be different or you’re dead,” writes Alan Sharpe, a direct-mail copywriter and nonprofit consultant. “Today’s direct-mail donors demand variety. Fail to give them variety and they will fail to give.”
To help charities create and personalize interesting and effective direct-mail appeals that recipients don’t simply throw away, Mr. Sharpe offers real examples of fund-raising letters and advice on what to write, what information to include, and how to design the appeals, as well as other tips on attracting and keeping potential donors’ attention.
“One secret to keeping busy readers hooked is to use irresistible transition sentences,” Mr. Sharpe writes in a section on how to inspire donors to give. “If you almost complete a thought at the end of one paragraph, they will begin reading the paragraph that follows to complete your thought.”
To help fund raisers with writer’s block, Mr. Sharpe lists 51 ways to begin a letter — for example, with a question, a story, or a shocking fact — as well as 51 ways to ask for a donation. Mr. Sharpe recommends that fund-raising letters ask for donations three times: near the beginning of the letter, at the top of the second page, and again at the end of the note.
A glossary of common fund-raising and direct-mail terms is included, along with dozens of direct-mail letters sent by organizations such as Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, and Greenpeace.
Publisher: Andrew Spencer Publishing, 30 Adelaide Street North, Suite 22, London, Ontario, Canada N6B 3B5; (877) 742-7732; http://www.raisersharpe.com; 254 pages; $29.69, or available for download for $19.95; ISBN 978-0-9784051-0-6.
