Creative

In "The Missing Middle" report on midlevel donor engagement, authors Alia McKee and Mark Rovner of Sea Change Strategies lay out six key points for creating a good content marketing strategy to engage midlevel supporters: deep substance, consistent narrative across all channels, major focus on stewardship, branded name, personal point of contact and reduced ask frequency.

I love this approach. In fact, let’s talk briefly about how your technology can help you do this.

You could use this as a fundraising copywriting checklist: This post at the Hilborn Blog, "Twenty things you should know before planning your next direct-response campaign," includes a very handy list: Components of a great letter.

• Make your appeal letter optically pleasing and inviting to read.
• Write small paragraphs and short sentences. Make use of image.
• Be conversational and informal.
• Feature an emotional story that personalizes your organization or cause.
• Thank your donor. Then thank the donor again. …

Your job as a fundraiser is to be the outside force that puts your donor in motion, emotionally and physically, so he or she cares about your mission and cares enough to make a gift. Here are six ways to jump-start the process.

I admit it — if you follow these six steps you won’t have a model fundraising program in place. But beating your head against the wall until you finally give up isn’t a good solution, either. Start small and make sure everyone on the team knows about the successes and sees the positive notes and emails you receive from donors. Be the best cheerleader for fundraising.

Most nonprofit organizations consider their donors "family." That means that every time you talk to a donor, send a letter or email, or see a donor face to face, it's much like a family reunion. And what happens in those few minutes or hours of engagement impacts the relationship for months, even years, to come.

Your job as a fundraiser is to be the outside force that puts your donor in motion, emotionally and physically, so he or she cares about your mission and cares enough to make a gift. Here are six ways to jump-start the process.

There’s nothing like a “proactive, hands-on committee” to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

If you’re ready to reinforce your fundraising foundation, these basic guidelines can help you transition to what can grow to be a strong and dependable base of support — individual donors.

No matter how skillful we become, it’s a good idea to dust off these prewriting skills because sooner or later they’ll come in handy.

In order for any fundraiser's words to resonate with donors and compel them to take action, those words must feel genuine — which is to say they must feel and sound like the type of passionate speak people use when they converse with one another. In March 2008, Willis Turner, senior copywriter at Huntsinger & Jeffer, shared "The Watergate Guide to Straight Talk," in which he wrote: "The Watergate Transcripts became a template for the kind of 'real' writing I wanted to do."