Is the opening of your letter taking donors anywhere?

By Kimberly Seville

So what’s your best lead?
If you think the one in front of you is blah, read on. Frequently, your best lead is buried somewhere later in the letter. But if you don’t find it anywhere, is there a way you can reframe your letter opening to include an anecdote or a story? Can you make a provocative statement or ask a question? Can you move from generalities to the specific? Can you make it about “you,” the donor, instead of a faceless institution? Can you kill the warm-up filler and get right to it?