What was your reaction when you read that headline?
Did you feel warm and fuzzy? Did you grab your checkbook because you instantly saw how you could help make someone’s life better? Did you feel happy, sad, sympathetic, angry, benevolent … or anything at all?
I doubt it. Except maybe you felt offended by the brash approach.
Guess what? Your donors are offended by this approach too. That’s why I repeatedly stress the importance of using donor-centered copy. If you’re an association … use member-centered copy.
Why is this so darn important? Because as a donor I don’t give a hoot how great you think your nonprofit is. I don’t want to hear you brag about how you did this and that.
What I do want…is to help. I want to discover how my $25 or $100 will benefit a child. Or how I can help drill a water well in a village with no safe drinking water.
So please do NOT tell us how great your nonprofit is with copy like this:
Acme Charity saved 15,000 lives this year through the 11 tons of medicine, food, water, and other supplies that we shipped to Country X. And we’ve been doing this since 1972. There is so much work yet to do. That is why we need you to give $25 today.
Instead, share with us how WE can help by writing donor-centered copy:
Maria is 11 and seldom lets her 5-year old brother Michael out of her sight. They lost their parents in a mudslide last spring during the monsoons.
Fortunately they’re not on the streets. They live in an orphanage sponsored by donors like you through Acme Charity. And although they have a safe place to sleep, in a country as poor as XXX it’s a daily struggle for the hard working people at the orphanage to properly care for all the children.
There just isn’t enough of anything to go around. Your gift of $25 will feed Maria and her brother for a whole week!
And if you can possibly give $50 or $100 they’ll not only have food, but some new clothes and supplies to attend school for a year. This would be a precious gift because it’s through education that you can break the cycle of poverty. Your gift to Acme Charity is their hope for a better future.
Write about what the donor can do. Show how they can help another person or family. Share how their donation will make a difference. It’s all about them … not you or Acme Charity. Donor-centered copy is essential to your nonprofit’s success.
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