Bring the Message Home

The letter’s tone conveys surprise that the recipient has not yet donated to the annual fund -- “Our records indicate you have not yet sent your 2006 Reston area contribution for cancer research and education.” It’s unclear in the mailing whether giving as a “Reston area” contributor means the funds will go to help those specifically in Reston, Va., as the BRE is addressed to go to AICR’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. But personalizing the letter and calling out the recipients’ locality brings the organization’s mission and need closer to home. The letter’s copy attempts to ignite a grassroots, we’re-all-in-this-together feel as it continues in the second paragraph: “Your support, as well as the support of your friends and neighbors in the Reston area, has enabled us to commit more than $77 million …”