Nonprofit professionals produce a lot of written copy in the form of newsletter articles, fundraising appeals, grant applications, annual reports, press releases, campaign documents, and website copy. Their overarching goal is to influence people’s perception of their organization in the hopes they will ultimately do something to support them: make a financial gift, join their board, volunteer, or come to an event.
What they don’t realize is that there are many reasons why someone might not give to an organization, such as:
They don’t know who you are; you aren’t even on their radar.
They don’t feel engaged with you or your cause.
They don’t feel that what you do is either unique or better than what anyone else does.
They aren’t motivated enough to give. Other things take priority.
They don’t see how their gift would matter or make a difference.
The biggest takeaway here is that these are all messaging problems. Either the organization is targeting the wrong audience, sending the wrong message, or the message isn’t written in a way that resonates with the reader.
The good news? When you understand why people don’t give, you have an opportunity to fix it.
Whether nonprofit professionals want to accept it or not, fundraising is a type of sales, and sales copy relies on persuasive writing techniques. And yet, nonprofit staff often don’t write that way. They talk mostly about themselves, how great their programs and staff are, how long they’ve been around, how many people they’ve helped, and what they need.
Their messaging isn’t directed at solving problems or showing readers how they’re making the world a better place. In other words, there’s nothing for the reader to engage with.
Don’t get me wrong. They might talk about that kind of stuff, but they don’t show it. And when you show your readers something, you move from merely telling them what you want them to know and drawing them in to learn more. They become engaged. They feel something. And when readers feel something, they are far more likely to act.
Marketing professionals have relied on persuasive writing for eons, selling us everything from cars to make-up to home products. If fundraising professionals want to truly make a difference in their communities and keep up with the growing need for their services, they need to take the time to learn persuasive writing.
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