I’ve noticed a trend in fundraising communications recently. They seem to be more formulaic than ever before. Many of the fundraising letters and newsletters I receive are interchangeable… just take the few sentences about Organization X’s mission and insert Organization Y, and they’re essentially the same letter.
Some of this is undoubtedly good: more non-profits are learning what works and what doesn’t and proceeding accordingly. Thus, it makes sense that more fundraising letters are including the ask in multiple places or using a compelling P.S., because these things work.
But much of what I see isn’t so good. Some of the “formulas” in modern fundraising communications are driven by inexperience or by the inartful use of AI to churn out fundraising letters based on stale best practices. Even more concerning are the number of non-profit development materials I see that are completely devoid of emotion.
I am sure you have seen these appeals and newsletters as well, telling us what the organization did and what it wants to do, without ever tugging on the heartstrings. This is a mistake, and one that is costing non-profits thousands of dollars. The truth is that the best fundraising messaging isn’t afraid to get emotional.
Why Emotions Matter in Fundraising
When it comes to making a gift to a non-profit, donors make the decision to give with their heart, and then look to back up or confirm that decision with their brain. This means that people get drawn into an appeal by their emotions, and only after their heart makes the decision to give do they back up that decision with facts and figures.
This distinction is subtle, but important. For the donor, it is often subconscious… they get emotional, and feel drawn to give based on these emotions, but they don’t actually say “yes” or know they are saying “yes” to the appeal until they have confirmed that decision with facts such as the number of people you are going to help, the success rate of your outcomes, etc. But they never would get to (or care about) those facts and figures unless they had already made the emotional decision to give.
Thus, my strong advice to you is that if you want to raise more money, you need to be emotional in your fundraising appeals… no matter what your mission field is. Every non-profit, in every mission field, can tug on the heartstrings. Go, therefore, and do it. Your fundraising revenue will grow, and your donors will feel a deeper connection with your work.
Foundations (and Corporations) are People, Too!
Having read the above, many fundraisers may think that this advice only applies to individual donors. “Foundations don’t have feelings, they just want to see the numbers!” they will say. And they’re right – foundations and corporations themselves don’t have feelings. But these fundraisers are forgetting something very important: those foundations and corporations are full of people… people who will review your grant applications and decide whether or not to give. And those people have feelings!
In other words, foundations and corporations are people, too! For this reason, you should also embrace emotion in your grant proposals and corporate giving solicitations. When a grant officer reads your LOI or grant proposal, they should feel something—they should get sad, or angry, or fearful—their heart should be telling them, “Yes! We have to help these people!” Then they can back up that feeling with all of the wonderful statistics, testimonials, and KPIs that you include in your proposal. Of course, you need to follow their grant guidelines and include the things they want you to include. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get emotional as well.
Remember, successful fundraising is emotional fundraising. This week, sit down and do an “emotional audit” of your most recent fundraising letters, appeal e-mails, and donor newsletters. Do you feel emotional when you read them? Do they tug on your heartstrings and make you mad, angry, sad (or even overjoyed)? If not, perhaps it’s time to be deliberate about adding more emotion to your fundraising communications!
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
