Topic
appeals
Facing a Budget Shortfall at Year-End? Don't Make It Your Appeal
A budget shortfall is a real problem, but "we're behind" rarely moves donors. Here's how to turn a year-end gap into an appeal people want to answer.
Should You Ask Your Volunteers for a Year-End Gift?
Many nonprofits leave volunteers out of the year-end appeal or send them the same letter as everyone else. Here's how to ask people who already give their time.
The Year-End Follow-Up Letter: Why Your Second Mailing Needs Its Own Plan
Your year-end follow-up letter goes to donors who meant to give and set the first letter aside. Here's who should get it, when it should land, and how to write it so it isn't a reprint.
Your Year-End Reply Card Is Doing More Work Than Your Letter
A donor can skip your year-end letter and still give, but they can't give by mail without the reply card. Here's how to make that small card easy to read, fill out, and send back.
Should You Send Your Year-End Appeal to Donors Who Just Gave?
Donors who gave this fall are some of the likeliest people on your file to give again, so leaving them out of the year-end appeal usually costs you. Here's who to hold back, and what the letter for everyone else should say.
[Year-end] Episode 2: Build an Offer Donors Can Finish
Dana laid last year's year-end letter on Marcus's desk. Across the top it said, "Help us fight hunger in our community." She asked him one question: "If you got this in the mail, how much would you give?" He honestly didn't know.
Your Top 25 Donors Shouldn't Get Your Year-End Appeal First
Your biggest year-end gifts usually come from a few donors. Here's how to pick your top 25 and ask them personally before the mass appeal arrives in December.
Should You Ask Monthly Donors for a Year-End Gift?
Should you ask monthly donors for a year-end gift? Yes, most of them. Here's how to make the ask without making your most loyal donors feel overlooked.
The New Charitable Deduction: What to Tell Your Year-End Donors
Starting in 2026, donors who don't itemize can deduct cash gifts again. Here's how to mention it in your year-end appeal accurately and in the right spot.
Your Year-End Appeal Starts With Last December's Donors
Last December's donors are the most valuable people on your file, and most of them hear nothing from you until the next appeal. Here's how to pull that list and warm it up in October and November.
Content Reuse Playbooks for Personalized Appeals
Build a reusable storytelling system so every donor segment gets a personal-feeling appeal without rewriting from scratch.
Stop Telling Donors What You Need (And Start Showing Them What They Can Change)
Your budget has a gap. Your instinct is to tell donors about it. But donors don't give to fill gaps. They give to change lives. Here's how to shift your messaging from what you need to what donors can make possible.
Nonprofit Email Marketing: A Fundraiser's Guide
How to build a nonprofit email program that raises money: grow your list, reach the inbox, welcome donors, set your cadence and write better appeals.
Clarity Results in Better Fundraising
Are you looking to raise more money for your cause? Then you need to start with clarity. When it comes to fundraising, clarity is key.
How to Write a Fundraising Appeal Letter (With Examples)
If you're new to fundraising, writing an appeal to raise funds is different than you might expect.
5 Secrets Experienced Fundraisers Know
When I joined Food for the Hungry, I thought I was going to blow right by expectations in fundraising. I came in with a consulting background and an MBA ...
8 Steps to a Timely Disaster Fundraising Response
It can be very frustrating not being able to get out a timely appeal. I remember a specific incident where we were sitting five days after a disaster, and we…
Mistakes That Will Sink Your Fundraising Campaign
I've made a lot of mistakes. I've had to learn a lot of hard lessons. Nonprofit fundraising isn't always easy.
Episode 008 - How Do I Create a Sense of Urgency in My Appeals?
Creating a sense of urgency in your appeal messaging will help move readers to become donors. What if you have a difficult time creating a sense of urgency? In episode 8 of Nonprofit Answers, Rob asks a question about how to create urgency in his appeals for a women's shelter.
Episode 005 - What to Do With 25,000 Email Addresses a Partner Offered Us?
Karen's organization has a partner who offered them a list of 25,000 email addresses. Her boss wants to just add them to their email service provider, but Karen doesn't agree. In episode 5, Jeremy gives Karen advice as to how to answer her boss and what to do with the opportunity.
Episode 004 - How Does Email Design Impact Response?
How does email design impact response in your emails? Often there are conflicting answers on blogs as different organizations experience different results when they change factors in their email marketing. In episode 4, Jeremy explores a question about graphics vs text emails and how you can test to determine the right factors to improve response for your nonprofit emails.
Episode 003 - How Do We Segment Our Emails?
Have you ever hired a consultant to help you with a project, but when it comes time to execute, they disappear? This happened to Holly when she brought in a consultant to look at her email fundraising program. The consultant told Holly she should improve her segmentation and then disappeared before sharing with her a direction to go. In episode 3 of the Nonprofit Answers Podcast, Jeremy teaches Holly about different ways to segment her email file to maximize response.
Episode 002 - How Do We Improve Our Turnaround Time for Sending Disaster Fundraising Appeals?
In episode two of the Nonprofit Answers Podcast, Jeremy Reis takes a question from Ryan who's frustrated with their turnaround time on disaster response fundraising appeals. This is a topic that really hits home: how do we decide if we're going to respond to a disaster and then get our appeals out the door quickly in email and direct mail? Jeremy shares how Food for the Hungry decides when to respond and how they send out emergency response fundraising appeals quickly.
The Story of the One
Nonprofit fundraising, at its core, is storytelling. Telling a story of how your organization has helped one beneficiary be transformed is the building block…