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📍What we're talking about this issue: 
Donor care's hidden corners (and how you can light them with generosity and love)

Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

Dear defender of good,

Here in my curio shop of a copywriting studio, I’ve got an autumn appeal headed into client review, a donor newsletter in the works, and two more appeals that kick off end of July.

It’s all got me thinking about donor care’s hidden corners, and how they can help your fundraising.... 

*** NOTE: to save you an impractical amount of clicking, the images below are just images. If you want to check out my portfolio after you read, it’s here – but I want you to benefit from the article first. Let's dig in:

Donor care’s hidden corners: how you can light them with generosity and love

✍️ By Lisa Sargent
Fundraising copywriter

July 2024

I’ll say it straight out.  This isn’t about fancy copywriting. 

And you might never fully quantify the good that comes from lighting the donor care corners we’re about to discuss.

Donor care corners that, at many nonprofits, go unloved. Unnoticed. Untended. Forgotten.
 

Maybe they’ll miss the difference between a pack that performs at a ten percent response rate vs. 10.25. Or an average gift that inches ever-so-slightly higher.

 

Maybe it’s that glimmer of goodness they’ll never see, at the very end of a donor making her gift. The moment that gives her a smile – and helps her give again next time.

 

Maybe they’ll miss the curiosity in a new giver’s eyes, opening their first donor newsletter. 

But this doesn’t have to be you.  It's true, you might never fully quantify the power of donor care corners. I can assure you, attending to them – and looking for new hidden corners – is worth it all the same. 

Here are a few simple donor care corners I’m lighting this autumn, that I hope will help you:

Postscripts:

In 1984, Siegfried Vögele published his Handbook of Direct Mail. One of the bombshells revealed by his eye-motion studies was that the postscript of a letter is read first by ninety percent of direct mail recipients. 

Pretty powerful. But also sad: because fundraising postscripts have become formulaic. Forgotten. You’re supposed to repeat the offer, sum up the letter, blah-blah-blah. 

Here’s my spin on the PS. 

When you research your story, when you write, save a little magic for your PS. 

Yes, for sure, remind people to give. Yes, say something about the offer.  Yes, absolutely, mention a deadline if there's a deadline.

But give me some love in this hidden donor care corner, people. 

Here's one we did in 2020 for a client that helps people living on the streets... see how it does more than just repeat the offer and ask?

And here's one more, where my genius design colleague Designer Sandie used a handwriting font and angled the PS beside a photo (not shared as part of this):

The point is, remember your postscript is a hidden donor care corner you can light with all the urgency and love... and it's never an afterthought. 

So always give your PS the attention it deserves.   

Page turns:

Not long ago a client sent me two packs created by a big name agency. 

My end of the project was to rework these packs (acquisition, so you know) to help them perform better.

Long story short, neither of the 4-page letters had any page numbers at all. And both of the letters had humdrum page turns: (over, please)... (next page, please)... like that.

There’s nothing wrong with that, per se.  

I’m always looking for better, though. Couldn’t we light those hidden donor care corners, and make the whole thing easier to follow? 

So:

>>> Unless your letter is 1-page, 2-sides, number your pages. If I drop your letter... if I lose my place... wouldn't it be nice to light this donor care corner, and guide me? Of course it would.
 

>>> At the bottom right corner of your pages, consider a cliffhanger page turn.  You can use italicized font, you can use handwriting font, just please: give me a reason to turn that page.

What the heck do I mean by page numbers and cliffhanger page turns?

Have a look, easy peasy. 

Numbered page, top of letter (we used handwriting font here):

And donor care page turns, two examples. One cliffhanger:

Another simple, but with an organization's mascot:

Flip sides:

Or, technically, flap sides. The flap sides of envelopes, I mean. 

I see this a lot in donor newsletters. The back side of the outer envelope – the flap side – is just blank. Sometimes it’s budget, and you might not be ready to light this hidden corner.

But if you can... please do.

I like to add a little tidbit to encourage supporters to open the envelope and read the newsletter, along with some love and gratitude. Here’s one we did not long ago:

***Note from me:
The flip sides of appeal envelopes are a whole other ballgame. And again, you might not always have the budget for these. Sometimes, though, it’s as simple as an arrow to the envelope flap with handwritten copy that reads “Please open... right here -->”.  Sometimes, we turn the outer envelope on its head, and use a portrait (vertical) orientation. Sometimes it acts like a mini-appeal. If you'd like me to cover outer envelopes in the Loyalty Letter sometime, reply to this email and let me know; I'll get it. :)

Stamp boxes and the last hidden corner

A reply envelope’s a reply envelope, right? 

Nay, nay, my nonprofit people. It’s the last hidden corner you have. 

Can you add a thanks? Can you add an inspirational quote? 

Can you – even if your reply envelope has to be printed one-side – add a little silhouette graphic... a special addressee... a please rush? 

Yes. You. Can. 

Do you have a stamp box there – eyes on you, countries that send Freepost – can you dress it up?

Can you add another message, even to a standard US nonprofit reply envelope with that ready-made “No Postage Needed” stamp box? Yes:

And here’s one more, the literal last words on a reply envelope that has mailed for years now, and donors love it. 

The translation for Míle buiochas, by the way, is “A thousand thanks”... 

... Plus I added a little philanthropic psychology for good measure – because donors really ARE wonderful people. 

And from my side of the keyboard, your supporters deserve love and generosity in all the donor care corners we can bring them – to light their own lives with generosity and love.

Thank you so much for reading today. Thank you for everything you do to make the world a better place to be.

And thank you for being a Loyalty Letter subscriber – I hope you’ll invite your friends and colleagues to sign up too, if it’s helpful to you.

Until next time, may your words work always for good.

Write on! 

PS. I cover different aspects of fundraising and writing on my Linked In page here:  www.linkedin.com/in/lisasargent/ and the amazing fundraisers who are kind enough to follow me are a positive, sharp, and spirited bunch. (Waves admiringly 👋.) If you'd like to join them, just click on the above link... and I'll see you back here at the Loyalty Letter in two weeks!  

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