A strong offer can make all the difference in helping your organization raise more money from prospects

By Abny Santicola

Rule No. 8: Make it about the donor
Your copy should be all about how great and needed the donor is — not about you.

Rule No. 9: Sell the psychological benefits a donor gets
These are:

Feeling good about giving
Thinking of herself as a compassionate person
Helping to make the world a better place

From a Special Olympics letter: "Being deeply involved in Special Olympics, I think I can recognize real commitment when I see it. And I see it, Mrs. Sample, in you."

Rule No. 10: Be relevant and timely
Gaffny shared an example of a mailing the Lincoln Center sent to people who had just attended one of its events. The letter begins, "A few nights ago, you did something that made you the envy of tens of thousands of performing arts patrons around the world — you visited Lincoln Center … "