how to avoid the 5 fatal mistakes fund appeals make
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How to Avoid the 5 Fatal Mistakes Fund
Appeals Make
4/30/15 1pm Eastern
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Our guest presenter »
Frank C. Dickerson, Ph.D.
• President of High Touch Communication, producer of direct mail fund-raising campaigns
• Adjunct professor at Cal University • Former Director of Development for
Campus Crusade for Christ, where he grew yearly income 7-10%, with annual income now approaching half-a-billion-dollars.
• Former pupil of Peter Drucker
How to Avoid the Five Fatal Mistakes Fund Appeals MakePresented by Frank C. Dickerson, Ph.D. for Bloomerang
Apparently my mom wanted a baby girl when I happened along in 1951. She named me Frankie Carol!
Dad wasn’t a farmer. Rather, it was oil that had brought him to Illinois from Texas after WWII. Then in 1964 it drew my family to Ohio.
I became a freshman at The Ohio State University in 1969—the year when. . .
• OSU beat O.J. Simpson’s USC Trojans 27 - 16 in the Rose Bowl
• Seven days later Richard Nixon became the 37th U.S. President
• Atlantic Records released Led Zeplin’s first studio album
• The Beatles played their last concert on rooftop of Apple Records
• Neil Armstrong became the first man to set foot on the moon
• 500,000 attended Woodstock at Max Yasgur's farm in Bethel, NY
• The first Internet message was sent at 10:30 pm on October 29
A Connecting Narrative Moment
A Connecting Narrative MomentPeople: We Feel Connection
A Connecting Narrative Moment
“Fear and pity may be aroused by spectacular means; but they may also result from the inner structure of the piece, which is the better way, and indicates a superior poet. For the plot ought to be so constructed that, even without the aid of the eye, he who hears the tale told will thrill with horror and melt to pity at what takes Place.” (Poetics II: 14)
Tension We suffer Conflict
A Connecting Narrative Moment
Kindness is great if shown to one who is in great need, or who needs what is important and hard to get, or who needs it at an important and difficult crisis; or if the helper is the only, the first, or the chief person to give the help.” (Rhetoric II: 7)
Resolution We become Heroes
Effective writing can make us . . .
Exposition | Narrative
LogicalAnalyticalObjective
EmotionalRelationalSubjective
Exposition follows:Sergeant Friday’s Facts Only, Data Approach
Narrative follows:C.S. Lewis’ Word Picture, Story Approach
__________________________________________
How do fund raisers write?
Fund appeals are long on concepts& Short on dramatic action
Fund appeals don’t show people doing.
Rather, they tell about people thinking.
Fund appeals don’t show people doing.
What type of writing style do fund raisers prefer?
Fundraisers were asked to rate two modes of communication: on a 1 to 5
scale, with 1 being low and 5 being high.
Exposition | Narrative
Fundraisers know what has worked in the past.
Ad Age rated this 1925 ad 45th on their list of the top 100 of the twentieth century. Written for U.S. School of Music by John Caples, it ran for decades and was copied by many.
It connected and readers empathized . . .
It connected and readers empathized . . .
“Can he really play”? A girl whispered. “Heavens no!” Arthur exclaimed,” “He never played a note in his life.”
Then I Started to PlayInstantly a tense silence fell on
the guests. The laughter died on their lips as if by magic. I played through the first and second of Liszt’s immortal Liebestraume. I heard gasps of amazement. My friends sat breathless—spellbound.
It connected and readers empathized . . .
Over the past few years, narrative story telling has been a hot topic.
Everyone knows a good story when they see one.
Everyone knows a good story when they see one.
But seeing exactly what it is abouta good story that makes it good.
Well . . . that’s another story
Two Researchers Studied Indiana NonprofitsUlla Connor Thomas Upton
In 2003 Connor and Upton at IUPUI used Biber’s protocols to answer this question: “Which of the 23 genres Biber profiled, does the writing of fund-raisers most closely resemble?”
Connor and Upton Concluded:
Case in Point: The Girl Scouts:
The Copy is Abstract:
Four Nouns as Vague Outcomes:
Reveals a Universal Problem:
Do elite Nonprofits write better?I studied . . .
We at Xela AID are working to do something that has not been done before in the Guatemalan highlands and beyond: sustainable community development. Here’s how:
Ours is a fully integrated approach to community development: we aim to remove the health, environmental and socioeconomic obstacles to education so we can transform poverty into abundance. This has to be done systematically, with continuous effort, and with continuous adaptation to current conditions. This is a tall order, but we are up to the task.We firmly believe that that partnering, respectfully, and recognizing the riches of theGuatemalan people is as important as the apparent physical outcomes we achieve. For Xela AID, our end product is the sum of our “doing” and our “being” together with our partners, and recognizing the benefits to all involved.
EM (Edward Morgan) Forster
A fund appeal must paint a word picture of someone doing something.
A fund appeal must paint a word picture of someone doing something.
It fails if it’s limited to an expositionof someone thinking something.
A fund appeal must paint a word picture of someone doing something.
It fails if it’s limited to an expositionof someone thinking something.
Ask: “Can I see what I’ve written on screen with action and dialogue?”
The Key Question . . .
Do you have something that could be shown on screen with no words, and it would tell a compelling story?
In a “nominalized” sentence abstract nouns do the work.
Once upon a time, as a walk through the woods was taking place on the part of Little Red Riding Hood, the jump out from behind a tree of the Wolf occurred, causing her fright.
Once upon a time, Little Red Riding Hood was walking through the woods, when the Wolf jumped out from behind a tree and frightened her.
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