THE #1 WAY TO RAISE MORE WITH YOUR NEXT APPEAL
August is so darn hot here in Austin, TX, I’m starting to have actual dreams about pumpkin spice and long sleeves.
Which means… It’s time for year-end fundraising planning.
EOY strategy is underway with my clients, and we’re talking about the practices that make appeals shine and RAISE MORE.
I’m sharing plenty of tried-and-true tactics I’ve learned in 20+ years in the field. And…
✨ Here’s the #1 way to raise more: ✨
✨ Tell an UNfinished story.
✨ An incomplete story.
✨ A story that demonstrates the need happening right now that you’re asking the donor to help meet
or the problem happening right now that you want the donor to help solve…
and invite them in to write the ending.
❌ Stop telling a finished, “mission accomplished” story that goes like this:
”Here’s what happened to Jane. Here’s how we solved it. Things are great for Jane now! Help us do the same for someone else like Jane.”
There’s a place for finished success stories, all year long. It’s in stewardship, thank-yous, and cultivation! Not your appeals.
HERE’S WHY:
❌ A finished story in an appeal shuts the door in the donor’s face… psychologically.
❌ A finished story tells the donor “You’re not really needed here, we’ve got this… Look how great we’re doing!”
❌ A finished story can even undermine trust — because “someone just like Jane” feels abstract and phony.
✨ On the other hand… an UNfinished story makes space for the donor, invites them in, and tells them they are needed. Right now!
✨ Let the donor help finish writing the story by making their generous gift.
HERE’S HOW:
Tell about one person whose situation is typical of those you serve… only up to the point where your organization is needed.
Stop there.
Make the ask.
Then make the offer: Tell how the donor’s gift can help write a happy ending. What will their gift do to help meet the need or solve the problem?
✨ Remind the donor that the happy ending is possible if they help.
Not taking my word for it?
Need more convincing?
Here’s another expert, Steven Screen, making the case.
And here’s a sample year-end appeal I wrote for an amazing client making this world a better place for people with deafness or hearing loss — the AG Bell Association.
(It performed really well.)
