It’s end of the year gift time for non-profits! And I am getting messages all around from Cal, my alma mater. Here’s a good one:
And here is one that didn’t move me from the College of Letters and Sciences. So both made a ploy to get me to send money. No problem there. The I-House did a great job of quantifying what my money would provide the house. By pulling out memories of specific activities (and experiences) we would remember fondly. The Cal letter focused on using the prestige of the institution, and wanting to keep it “alive.”
Really here, the lesson is on presentation. The I-House told a story, to remind me of my time there. But Cal just tried to ride on its name and reputation. So storytelling works. Use it all of your communications when you can. It improves your results. Tangibly and intangibly. I am sure you can guess who’s first on my donation list.
Reposted from: http://jameane.wordpress.com/2008/12/19/fundraising-emails-the-effective-and-the-deleted/
