Know Your Audience

It’s important to note that your fundraising message should appeal to your donor’s emotions and interests, not yours. If you write for yourself, you have an audience of one. Not great odds if you want to fully fund your nonprofit.

So, what does your audience want?

Here are 4 truths to help you create messaging that will move your audience to take the action you want them to take, whether that’s making a donation, volunteering, or spreading the word.

Your reader only reads what’s interesting. NUMBER ONE

Everything you share should be written with your audience in mind. Ask yourself “What does my donor care about? What part of my program sets her heart on fire?”

It’s not this: “We’re a 501c3 nonprofit”. No one will give because you are a nonprofit. Nonprofit is a tax status, not a reason to give.

It’s also not this: “Help us reach our goal.” People don’t care about your goal. They care about making a difference.

Put yourself in your donor’s shoes and make a list of the reasons why she might give to your nonprofit. Then use those in your messaging.

NUMBER TWO

Facts tell, stories compel.

When you’re communicating with your audience, you should share ONE well-chosen fact. Then tell a story that will grab them by the heartstrings.

Don’t inundate them with lots of numbers – that’s overwhelming to the average person and they won’t be able to translate those numbers into something that matters.

If your programs haven’t started yet, talk about what you’re going to do and WHY it matters. Your WHY is where your passion is.

For example, a food pantry might know that 10,000 people in its service area are food insecure. But, if you share that, people will glaze over – That’s a huge number and without context, it’s hard to understand. Plus, there’s jargon they won’t get, either.

Now, if you share the same number like this, people will be more moved to give:

1 in 6 people in our community are struggling to put food on the table.

See the difference?

It’s critical that you follow that one statistic with a story about one person who is struggling with hunger.

Maybe talk about Marie, a single mom with 2 kids and 3 part-time jobs, trying to make ends meet. Describe how her precarious situation works until one of the kids gets sick or needs new shoes or her old rattle-trap of a car breaks down. Then she doesn’t have enough money to cover everything and depends on the emergency food box to feed her family.

With a story, people can start to relate to Marie and feel empathy, which leads them to want to help. When you end with a clear call to action, your reader will want to get involved and make a difference for those like Marie, and you’ll see the results you’re looking for.

NUMBER THREE

People want to fund your impact, not your existence.

Hardly anyone outside your organization cares about your budget or your internal goals. So, don’t ask people to give to your • Annual fund (most people don’t even know what that is) • Annual appeal (your appeal is the mechanism for the gift, not the reason to give) • Annual budget (there’s nothing appealing about supporting a budget) Here’s the bottom line: Your nonprofit doesn’t have needs. Those you serve have needs. Focus your messaging on those whose lives you are changing. That’s what people care about.

NUMBER FOUR

The right language can make donors feel like heroes.

The whole reason people give is to help make a difference. In short, they want to feel good. So, use phrases like these: • “Because of you, little Timmy will get help learning to read.” • “With your support, we can eliminate the waiting list for …” What you DON’T want to use is what I call Fundraising French: “we did this” and “we did that”–we, we, we. No “we need to reach our goals.” No “Give to our annual fund.” It turns donors off. Your messaging should set peoples’ hearts on fire and inspire them to get involved. Give them a reason to care and they’ll give just so they can feel good.

just get started

You need to feed your donors a regular diet of inspirational, heartfelt stories and info that make them feel like they’re a part of your team. Start by creating a Donor Communications Plan that includes every non-Ask you’ll send to your donors. Include newsletters, updates, and videos that show them how—together—you’re making a difference in the world. Be sure to put this plan in writing and post it where you can see it regularly so you can easily stay on track.

This type of regular engagement will draw donors closer to your organization which means they’ll either give bigger or more often. They’ll be so jazzed by the awesome stories you’ve shared that they’ll be primed and ready when you ask for their support. They may also be ready to make a monthly gift which really creates predictability for your nonprofit!