May 17, 2001 | Read Time: 1 minute
How to Write Successful Fundraising Letters
by Mal Warwick
This revised and updated book offers practical tips for writers of fund-raising appeals.
Mal Warwick, a consultant who specializes in fund-raising and marketing services for nonprofit organizations, writes that “if fund raising by mail is a science (a dubious proposition at best), its fuzziest, most inexact, least scientific aspect is writing the letters.” Fund-raising appeals cannot be written by formula, Mr. Warwick says, but writers can follow rules of thumb that will make such appeals more effective.
Sections One through Three discuss motivating potential donors; preparing to write fund-raising letters; customizing appeals for new donors, special, high-dollar, or annual gifts; and the importance of thank-you notes.
Section Four, the “Letter Writer’s Toolbox,” contains lists of “teasers” from the envelopes of successful fund-raising campaigns, openings and conclusions for letters, methods of handling difficult copy-writing transitions, and other examples of ways to improve fund-raising letters. The book includes case studies and samples from local and national nonprofit fund-raising letters.
Publisher: Jossey-Bass, 350 Sansome Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94104; (415) 433-1740 or (800) 956-7739; fax (415) 433-0499 or (800) 605-2665; http://www.josseybass.com; 304 pages; $27.95; I.S.B.N. 0-7879-5652-X.
