It’s a huge mistake to try to accomplish two different things in one fundraising message.
If you try to ask for a gift and also invite donors to an event or get them to inquire about planned giving — you’ll end up accomplishing neither goal very well.
I know one cool exception to the one-thing rule in fundraising: the principle of contrast.
It works like this: Tell donors there are two ways to help: One is difficult, like sell everything you own, and join our staff as a volunteer hermit. The other is easy — give a gift of $62.
By showing two ways to take action, one much more difficult than giving, you make giving seem more easy, more reasonable, more do-able by contrast. (Of course, the difficult option must be real: you may get takers!)
Otherwise, only ask for one thing at a time. This is hard-earned experience talking.
Jeff Brooks has been serving the nonprofit community for more than 35 years and blogging about it since 2005. He considers fundraising the most noble of pursuits and hopes you’ll join him in that opinion. You can reach him at jeff [at] jeff-brooks [dot] com.
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