To the Point: You Talk, Donors Listen

People aren't bad for thinking this. They're just human. If you want to communicate with them on the scale they comprehend — a human scale — then take the big issue your organization addresses and communicate it through stories about one person, one whale, one tree.

Hopeful, not hopeless
One reason for thinking small is that people tend to act on what they believe they can change. If your problem seems intractable, enormous and endless, people won't be motivated to help. They want to know there is something — anything — that they can fix by giving you money. If you want to raise money, give them a reason to feel hopeful about the impact of their gifts rather than hopeless about the overall prospects for change.