How to Tell Stories that Motivate Donors to Give
Post on 06-Jul-2015
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...that motivate donors to give
How to
tell stories
If people in your
organization are saying
this, your fundraising
will fail...
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If people in your
organization are saying
this, your fundraising
will fail...
We’ve got to
tell our story!
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Your story is
the wrong
story
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The real story is
the donor’s story
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Show me how I can
change the world through
your organization!
The real story is
the donor’s story
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Not how awesome
you are!
Donors give for a lot of
reasons that have
nothing to do with how
awesome you are.
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... that’s why bragging
is irrelevant in
fundraising.
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... that’s why bragging
is irrelevant in
fundraising.
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Your job is to connect
their values and money
with your cause.
... by making it
clear they are
the hero in the
fundraising
situation.
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3 ways to tell a
story in fundraising
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(one right, one wrong, one half-right)
Organization as hero
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Organization as hero
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Heavy on facts & numbers Light on “you” Jargon Boring bullets
Organization as hero
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Heavy on facts & numbers Light on “you” Jargon Boring bullets
Donor as hero
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Donor as hero
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Colloquial Lots of “you”Reveals “why I’m writing” Leads to CTA
Beneficiary as hero
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Beneficiary as hero
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Tends to be over-written Light on “you” Questionable relevance
Beneficiary as hero
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Tends to be over-written Light on “you” Questionable relevance
5 hints for
donor-focused
fundraising
stories
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Say “you” a lot
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#1
Say “you” a lot
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#1
“I’m writing to you because...”
“You can help.”
“The difference you can make will amaze you.”
“Your donation will go to work immediately.”
Put the donor in the story
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#2
Put the donor in the story
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#2
“I wish you could see it.”
“You’d understand right away.”
“I’m so thankful to have friends like you.”
Write like your Aunt Ruth
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#3
Write like your Aunt Ruth
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#3
(Not like the incredible Hemingway that you are.)
Keep your heart on
your sleeve
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#4
Keep your heart on
your sleeve
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#4
“It broke my heart.”
“I’ve never seen anything so inspiring.”
“I thank God for people like you.”
Avoid statistics
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#5
Avoid statistics
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#5
(Facts and numbers undermine even the best stories.)
Be Yoda.(Your donor is Luke Skywalker.)
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There is no try!
Only donate!
Interested? Let’s talk:Jeff Brooks, Creative Director, TrueSense Marketing
Email: jeff.brooks@truesense.com
Blog: futurefundraisingnow.com
Twitter: @jeffbrooks
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