You won’t believe it but my friend Jacqueline wrote a “cold” letter appealing to Doris Buffett – and Ms. Buffett actually responded with a PERSONAL phone call. And, ultimately she made a gift.

When Jacqueline told me about this, I didn’t believe it could ever happen.

Until I read the letter.

Then I understood.

I’m sharing this letter with you (with permission).

I’m presenting it in its entirety – so you can see the level of detail.

What worked so well?

Remember, this is an exploratory letter. A letter of inquiry.

And she skipped over many of the introductory formalities and courtship steps – and went right to the point.

As an experienced consultant, I certainly would have smoothed out the letter and softened it up.  I think you have to be very careful with emergency appeals.

But her directness is what gave the letter such power.

1. Transparency = credibility.

This letter is a perfect example of the kind of transparency we need to show to our donors.

She was explicit about the school’s challenges.

She didn’t try to smooth the problems over. She was breathtakingly honest.

How could you not trust her, with the tone of this letter?

What would happen if you were this honest in your communications with key donors??

2. Simplicity.

Her approach was extremely simple.

She didn’t clutter her note up with jargon and the usual “nonprofitese” that says absolutely nothing.

Every word and sentence in this letter is plain, simple and thereby powerful.

3. Utter lack of bull.

But what I like most about this letter is her complete, utter lack of bull.

She was completely frank about the pending doom ahead for the school and how it might impact the students.

She courageously shared her situation – with all its warts – with a powerful potential donor.

And it worked. Boy did it.

I don’t know a lot of nonprofits who would be so very frank.

How are you talking about YOUR financial needs?

I’m getting fundraising letters these days from nonprofit colleagues who are facing the same kind of dire financial situation.

And I’m getting generalities from them.  Their tone is more distant, more formal, and far, far less gripping.

If there ever was a time to be explicit, NOW is that time!

Take a look at this letter:

What does it have that encouraged such a lady to actually pick up the phone and call Jacqueline to discuss the project?

Dear Ms. Buffett and the Sunshine Lady Foundation:

One of your former scholarship recipients recommended that I write to request funding for an emergency shortfall.  I am the Head of School at The XXX School for Children with Autism in xxxx NC.  I was hired in September 2007 as a last ditch hope to keep the school alive.

A parent of a child with autism started the school nearly eight years ago.  She invested an amazing amount of time and energy to get the school off the ground.  The school has grown over the years and outgrew her strengths and expertise particularly in the arena of business management.

It wasn’t until I was hired that we really discovered just how much of the basic business foundation was missing.  I have spent the last eight months untangling and restructuring the school to have the business in compliance with all applicable employment and safety laws.

In the meantime, I have not been able to focus on developing the program until I knew that the school was on the road to stability.  Fortunately, two weeks after I started, we received a grant from the state, which provided funding for 10 new students and covered a significant portion of our operating costs.

This was a curse and a blessing with all of the other work that needed to be done.  Anyway, the grant cycle is coming to a close and the funding ends at the end of June.

We have reapplied for the grant but will not know until the legislature votes in July or August.  Then, we will still need to wait for the money to become available – which may be months.

So, I actually have two concerns.

One concern is that we will not have enough operating income to make it through September this year.

The other is that these 10 grant students will not be able to continue their programming unless their family can afford the tuition, and many of them cannot.

I have developed some new educational programs to bring in additional income but these programs need time to grow to become profitable.

There is no question in my mind that I will be able to make this school financially independent given some time, and grants will merely be able to add to what we already offer. With the number of children with autism growing so drastically, the need for services is going to grow as well.

I have found a local donor who is willing to match up to $50,000 donation to cover our emergency shortfall.

Your financial support will provide us with the time needed to develop additional quality programs that are so desperately needed for children with autism.

As far as the students who are in financial need, if The Sunshine Lady Foundation is willing to provide any tuition assistance to them, it would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jacqueline XXX

Head of School

Ok, so what do you think?

Would you have answered this letter if you were a philanthropist?

I am just back from an intense 4 days at the AFP International Fundraising Conference.

And I listened to some of fundraising’s most brilliant – and provocative -  leaders.  Here’s what’s on the mind of some of our smartest thinkers.

Do consider these ideas NOW. They may go against your typical practices.

But I promise, absolutely, that you will raise more money if you implement them.

1. Go All Out for Monthly Donors On Your Home Page.

Monthly donors are worth gold to you. On average, they will stay for 10 YEARS. Put the ask right on your home page.

The ideal monthly appeal ties a monthly ask to something specific. “$31 a month will do xxxx.”  Harvey McKinnon

2. Focus on Fewer – Not More Donors.

You don’t make more money by having more donors. The more donors you accumulate – the less profitable your fundraising program. (Penelope Burk)

3. Encourage Restricted Giving.

Restricted asks raise more money. Period.  We are holding our philanthropy back, because we are asking for unrestricted rather than restricted. (Penelope Burk)

4.  Get Rid of the Words.

Put your whole message in the first 150 words. The rest of your copy just backs it up.  (Tom Ahern)

5.  Get Rid of “Unmet Needs,” “Programs,” “Services.”

Write like you are an outsider to your organization. Get rid of the boring, obtuse jargon. Jargon is a flame retardant! (Tom Ahern)

6.  Make Your Case Like a Series of Ads.

Add photos while you get rid of words. Create your case or your fundraising materials with the fewest words and the best photos. (Tom Ahern)

7.  Hire More Fundraisers.

Saying, “We can’t hire any more staff.” is stupid. Each additional fundraising staffer upticks gross fundraising revenue. Period. (Penelope Burk)

8.  Give Your Fundraising Staff Raises.

Money is the #1 reason fundraising staff leaves. Investing in retention of staff will make you money. Retention boosts profit.

Extend young staff from 18 months to 30 months saves you money. (Burk)

9. Get Rid of the Raise Money Now Mindset.

31% of fundraisers who are planning to leave their jobs will leave because of  an unrealistic “old school” culture of fundraising: ie, “you HAVE to bring in the $ NOW.”

How much more money could you raise if you took a long term, strategic approach? (Burk)

10. You Must Give Your Staff Management Training.

Success in business is 95% in the management of other people. But we cut staff training first whenever there is a shortfall. Training is essential. There’s not enough management training in nonprofits.(Burk)

11. Get Rid of Lousy Board Members Now.

Allowing a lousy, nonperforming board member to serve out their term is, two words: “Chicken S***”  (Simone Joyaux)

12. Be Blatant.

Try this: “With your help, all these amazing things happened. And without your help, they won’t.”  You‘re selling the impact of the donor’s gift. (Tom Ahern)

13. Stop Talking About The Money You Need.

You choose:

A case is about the opportunity you‘re putting in front of the donor.

OR

A case is about your organization‘s need for cash. (Ahern)

14. Become a Shrink.

When dealing with volunteers, you are a psychologist not a fundraiser!  (Laura Fredricks)

15. Don’t Believe Your Prospect, When. . .

If he says, “I’m just a plain ole country boy,” it really means he is a wealthy prospect! (Eli Jordfald)

16. Close Down Some Programs.

Leaders will close or giveaway a program or activity that is no longer profitable and has little impact.

So were these ideas provocative? Would they challenge your status quo?

Remember fundraising is changing. Donors are changing.

Doing what you’ve always done the same old way will get you yesterday’s results.

Go for it! Change is good.

Use this article to rattle some cages!

And please forward it to a friend – and I’d really appreciate your comments.

What do donors want right now?

We know that donors in 2011 have cut back their giving and are focusing on fewer organizations than ever.

And they are looking for one thing more than anything else.

Donors are looking for IMPACT.

The big question they are asking is:

“What are you doing with my money?”

“Are you wasting it? Or are you making a difference?”

If you are not addressing these questions in your communications to your donors, you can expect a serious drop off in donor renewals. You don’t want that, do you?

So here’s what you give them – a report or better yet, a web page, called:

“YOUR GIFTS AT WORK”

Forget the boring “Annual Report.” (Research shows that donors don’t read them anyway.)

Instead give your donors EXACTLY what they want – information on how their gifts are used financially.

And tell them in no uncertain terms how they are making a difference in the world changing and saving lives.

All the research studies right now are showing that today’s donors are more “performance oriented” than ever – so give them performance data.

What to put on “Your Gifts at Work” web page:

Here’s what should be in your “Your Gifts At Work” report or web page. (BTW – make it the most important page on your web site too.)

1.    Pie chart on where the money comes from.

2.    Pie chart on where the money is going.

3.    Photo of cute kid (if possible) and a story about how your organization changed or saved their life.

A real-world example.

Check out care.org – I give them major high marks for putting the pie charts right there on their home page.

• CARE’s Programs by Activity
• How CARE’s expenses are Allocated

And actually one of the home page links (there are several) is a donation landing page.

Clearly this organization is all over state-of-the-art online fundraising. We can all learn lots of lessons studying their site.

Also, amazingly – right there on the home page, is a link to the Charity Navigator page  for CARE.  There you can find summary financials,  the name of the board chair, the salary of the CEO, and 3rd party ratings on CARE’s organizational efficiency.

Do you have the guts to put the Charity Navigator or Guidestar link for your organization on your home or donation pages?

Here’s an organization that understands “transparency.”

We’re all talking a good talk about transparency. But I am not finding many nonprofits that want to practice it.

But here’s the thing. If this is one of the most important factors donors consider when deciding whether to renew a gift, maybe you better put it into action.

Remember, today’s post-recession donors are different than the ones a few years ago.

Today’s donors want as much BANG for their buck as absolutely possible.

It’s YOUR job to tell them how you give them that BANG.

Your same old same old story about your organization isn’t going to cut it with today’s (and tomorrow’s) donors.

Try copying CARE’S site. It’s clearly a donor-centered site, a donor-centered portal for donations, and demonstrates a state-of-the-art donor-centered fundraising process.

Give donors what they want and they’ll reward you with continued giving.

No matter what’s going on in the economy.

Do you agree? Let me know with a comment!

Some things haven’t changed in the recession: The donors who were generous yesterday are still generous today.  Folks who were not ever generous yesterday are still not generous today.

Generous donors are continuing to support their causes. Bless them! They will keep giving if they can, year in and year out, often regardless of their own circumstances.

The good news is: a lot of people, foundations and corporations are still making a lot of gifts.

I’m in northwest Arkansas today, keynoting the Northwest Arkansas AFP Philanthropy Summit.  And I’m quoting my friend John Hicks, former Pres of the AFP Chapter of Greater New York City, who shared a refreshing perspective on raising money today.

John reminds us that giving is still somewhat stable:

• Individual giving only fell by 4% in 2009. It continues to be greater than 2% of the gross domestic product for the 13th consecutive year (Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University – Giving USA 2010)

• And foundations have held surprisingly firm: While foundation assets fell 27%, foundation giving went down by less than 9%. (Way to go, foundations!)

• Corporate giving even rose an estimated 5.5% last year, although this was largely because of increased in-kind gifts from businesses and corporations.

There’s sympathy and empathy in the air.

People are thinking about investing their money to find solutions to society’s problems.

John Hicks says that when times are good, donors don’t often feel the pain and hurt. Today this recession is more personal to many. Sometimes donors even feel the pain themselves – and this experience is helping to open their heart to others.

It seems that these days, people are paying much more attention to the problems of others. “When someone else is suffering, we suffer ourselves,” says Dan Pallotta, author of the book “Uncharitable,” (which, by the way is my very next book to read. Standford Social Innovation Review said it deserved to become “the nonprofit sector’s new manifesto.”)

Optimistic forecasts:

John cites the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy at Boston University’s prediction that for 2010, total charitable giving could actually return to the pre-recession (2007) level of $234 billion.

This of course, is a best case scenario, but it certainly is heartening when the pundits start making optimistic predictions.

The well’s a little lower but there’s still a lot of water down there.

He says that considering all things, philanthropy didn’t suffer as much as we thought it would.

Maybe the reverse of Newton’s law works:  whatever comes down will come right back up.

Action item: run at the problem, not away from the problem!

John shares a great example of how to beat a recession. It’s an inspirational success story that just might give you some ideas:

The recession was a wake up call to an organization named Operation Exodus Inner City. Exodus is an after-school program for at-risk inner city kids in Washington Heights in New York City.

In the teeth of the recession, Exodus attacked the problem head-on. Its leaders adopted an aggressive, growth-oriented strategic plan. (Can you imagine in the middle of a recession?)

They ran directly at the problem, not away from the problem. Exodus chose to take a much smarter, much more strategic approach. The Exodus board stepped up and gave more money. Proposals and presentations laid out a very clear set of numbers with realistic expectations that appealed to donors.

Exodus opened a second site, doubled student participation and managed to take their foundation grants from $200k to $272k. Donors were asked to sponsor a kid – the chance to touch a life.

Even in this recession, people got excited about Exodus and what they were doing.

Could your organization pull that off?

A donor’s ROI has never been higher.

Today, John Hicks says that a donor’s return on his or her investment of a contribution can bring in incredible returns: $1000 sends a ghetto kid to a one-in-a-lifetime summer camp experience; $1000 buys a brick home for an African family; $1000 can provide a college scholarship that can help a student get into a quality school.

• Who knows, maybe the recession just may be making our organizations smarter and better.

• Who knows, maybe the entire field of philanthropy will become more strategic as a result of the recession.

A couple of John’s favorite quotes:

I never won a fight by throwing in my towel instead of my fighter.

How is your cause doing in the recession? Is attacking the problem head-on a good strategy?

Share your story with a comment below:

When you plan your year-end fundraising campaign, how do you know what will really open your donors’ hearts and minds (and wallets) to your cause?

After all, there are so many fundraising strategies and hoops to jump through. How do you put it all together?

The first step to realize is that a fundraising campaign is an exercise in persuasion and communication.

Just like a recipe, different formats will yield different results. But whatever recipe you choose, the important thing is to understand the reasoning behind the “ingredients” that go into it.

Let’s take a look at what every successful year-end campaign should have — regardless of how your recipe gets stirred up.

1. Step-by-step timing that gets your donors’ attention.

You’re competing for your donor’s time, energy and attention in a very crowded media marketplace. It will take several steps and appeals to gain recognition on your donor’s overloaded personal radar screen.

Start first with a warm up, such as a phone call thank you and update. Then send a postcard announcing your year-end campaign. Then the appeal letter; then the follow up letter (“we haven’t heard from you.”)

It will take several attempts for you to actually gain your donor’s attention. If you are planning to send out only one letter, you’ll be disappointed with your results.

Whether it’s an email campaign or direct mail campaign, followup processes are an essential ingredient. Plan your followup along with everything else. It should be part of very appeal process.

2. Different media that reinforce your message.

You’ll need to reinforce your message in each communications channel you use: email, web, letters, postcards, brochures, phone calls. Your email reinforces your letter; and your letter reinforces your phone call. And you need the same message in each channel – all echoing each other.

Again, your donor is overloaded with messages coming in from everywhere. This is how do you get through to her.

And her habits may be changing.  Is she even opening her snail mail these days? Does she even write checks any more? Or does she avoid technology? Meet her where she is.

She really cares about your cause, but she just has to be reminded in several different ways.

3. A story that evokes emotion.

We all know that stories are more powerful than organizational accomplishments.

Make your appeal into a story. People are more likely to read a story than they will read a regular letter. Stories will draw your donor in and encourage them to keep reading. Powerful stories illustrate how you are changing and saving lives.

Studies show over and over that donors give out of emotion, then justify it with logic. You have to open your donor’s heart to the cause before you ask for her financial help.

Use a visual metaphor to illustrate your story. Try telling the story from a different angle in each appeal. The story is what will grab your donor’s heart.

4.  An appeal letter that your donor will open and read.

I hate to tell you, but lots of appeal letters simply aren’t opened or read. So how do you get through to your donor and make sure he reads the appeal?

First, the envelope needs to be memorable. If it looks like an impersonal form letter, you’re dead. Check the label – if it looks institutional, then your letter will be trashed quickly.

And the letter has to be about the donor, not about you. Talk about what the donor wants to accomplish and what’s important to the donor.

It’s essential to use:

• “I” and “you” words to make it very personal.
• Lots of white space, short sentences and paragraphs, bullets, photos, headings to make it easy to read.
• A strong P.S. – because that’s what the donor will read first.

5. A specific dollar amount that encourages a larger gift.

If you “hem and haw” about your ask, then you’re dead. You need to cheerfully and enthusiastically ask your donor for his financial commitment. No if’s, ands, or buts.

Be completely up front and ask for a specific dollar amount. If you just ask for “a generous contribution,” your donor is liable to low-ball, and you’ll be disappointed.

6. A clear call to action that motivates the donor to give.

Where, oh where, is the call to action on nonprofit web sites, in appeal letters, in presentations and speeches? You gotta tell the donor what they can do to help. You gotta make that request clear and simple. You must ASK:  Write your check today. Or make a gift today. Join our cause today. Take action right now.

Your call to action conveys urgency showing why they must give and give now.

And it needs to show how the money will make an immediate and lasting difference. Make it clear how much money you need and what you need it for.

And make sure your call to action is the same on both web, email and direct mail – and in personal presentations.

7. A donation process that makes it easy for your donor to give.

Clearly you have to make the giving process simple and seamless for the donor.

For direct mail appeals, you’ve got to include a pre-addressed reply envelope with every appeal. If you don’t include that envelope, you can pretty much forget your campaign.

But remember many donors are not writing checks any more. Be sure your web page offers a clear, simple path to make a gift. Test your web donation process by making a gift yourself – how intuitive is it? Is it cumbersome? Are you asking your donor for too much information?

Studies show that many donors leave the donation page before they make a gift. Don’t let that happen to you!

8. A web site that encourages donors to give.

What does your web site look like? Is it a brochure presented in web format? (boring) Is it all about you?

Have you considered what visitors to your site are looking for and what THEY want?  You might be surprised. (hint – check out your search box and what visitors are searching for)

Studies show that many donors who write checks visit web sites first to find out more information.  Be sure your site gives your visitors and donors what they want!

Set up a “Your Gifts at Work” page to show donors what you are doing with their money.

9. A thank you process that will keep donors giving.

Plan your thank you process when you plan your overall campaign. We all know terrific thank yous and stewardship are the first step in preparing your donor for an additional gift.

Plan now to have board members to call and say thank you immediately after you receive the gift.

Create the thank you letter when you write the appeal letter. Create a special welcome packet for new donors to make them feel part of the cause. Remember the old adage: find 7 ways to thank your donors and they’ll give again!

10. A Dec. 30-31 strategy that will maximize on-line giving.

Many organizations receive a majority of their on-line gifts the last two days of the calendar year. And between 35-42% of on-line gifts are made the last two months of the year. You need a specific strategy for the last week, with appeals scheduled for the last two days.

On-line gifts made in the last two months of the year tend to be higher than those made earlier in the year.

So plan those year-end email appeals now!

If these tips help you, plan to join me for my next webinar on September 22 for Top 10 Strategies to Raise More Money This Year-End. We’ll drill down more into these topics and I’ll share even more successful fundraising strategies to help you raise the most you can this year-end.

And leave a comment and tell me your impressions of this list!