Dana’s first draft of the year-end letter opened with “Riverbend Community Food Pantry is pleased to share” and a number about pounds of food. It was accurate, and it wasn’t going to move anyone sitting at a kitchen table with a stack of mail. In episode three of Finish Strong, we rebuild the letter, the backbone of your whole campaign, around one simple idea: one person, one problem, one gift.
In this episode you’ll learn how to:
- Use the shape of a strong appeal: one person, the problem, the donor as the solution, the offer, the deadline, and a P.S. that restates the ask.
- Choose whose story to tell, get written permission, and tell it with dignity instead of pity.
- Write to one donor: more “you,” short paragraphs, plain words, and a reply card that matches the letter.
- Turn one letter into four versions for top donors, lapsed donors, monthly donors, and new donors.
- Time it right: in mailboxes before Thanksgiving, then a shorter second letter in early December that announces the match.
- Use AI as your editor, not your author.
Riverbend Community Food Pantry, and Tanya’s story, are fictional, but if you’ve worked at a small nonprofit, you’ll recognize them. When your letter is about one person and what your donor can do for her, the donor gets to be the hero.
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