6 Ways to Motivate Donors
You can’t argue with physics. Isaac Newton’s first of law of motion
is that an object at rest will stay at rest unless it’s acted upon by an outside force. The law is immutable and applies to people as well as objects … including donors and prospects.
Your job is to be that outside force — to put your donor in motion, emotionally and physically, so he or she cares about your mission and cares enough to make a gift. Fortunately, you have a whole host of tools at your disposal to help you lift, pry, shove, compel, jostle, elbow, convince, arrest, inspire and motivate those who read your appeals into action.
Willis Turner believes great writing has the power to change minds, save lives, and make people want to dance and sing. Willis is the creative director at Huntsinger & Jeffer. He worked as a lead writer and creative director in the traditional advertising world for more than 15 years before making the switch to fundraising 20 years ago. In his work with nonprofit organizations and associations, he has written thousands of appeals, renewals and acquisition communications for every medium. He creates direct-response campaigns, and collateral communications materials that get attention, tell powerful stories and persuade people to take action or make a donation.
