What’s hiding in your fundraising details?

You know the saying, The devil is in the details. It’s a helpful reminder how “little” things can really trip you up. Like a ZIP barcode in your direct mail being wrong.

One of my early fundraising mentors turned that phrase on its head: God is in the details.

That has a slightly different meaning: Truly great work consists, at least in part, on getting the “little” things right.

I like that version better.

Here’s an example of a minor detail that can make a real difference, from the Better Fundraising Blog: Matte, Not Glossy.

The main point: You should usually use matte-finish paper in fundraising. Not glossy.

You might want to choose glossy paper, because it looks better. Colors are more crisp and vibrant. It usually look “classy” or “professional.” But…

… glossy paper reflects more light than matte paper, and the reflections make anything printed on glossy paper a little harder to read. This is especially true for older donors whose eyes don’t adjust between bright and dark as well as they used to.

The post cites tests where matte went up against glossy, and matte did better. Average gift and the response rate were higher. (This has been tested many times over the years, usually with those results.)

It’s a detail. Barely noticeable to some, including most of your donors.

But it matters.

This teaches us a general principle too: If you think about donors a lot … if you know what their lives are like … you’ll often come up with small but important details that really matter.

Watch the details! You never know what (or who) is in them!