The Case for Handwriting

07 Apr The Case for Handwriting

7 April 2026

By David Allen, Development for Conservation

I’ve frequently advocated for sending letters and cards in the mail (as opposed to email) and for handwriting them when possible. So I read with some interest Elizabeth Passarella’s recent opinion piece in the New York Times’ Well section a few days ago.

In her piece, Passarella described receiving a handwritten letter from a long-time friend and feeling “giddy” when she wrote a handwritten reply.

This isn’t just her opinion. Handwriting uses multiple parts of the brain – accessing creativity and memory – in ways that typing does not. (See the relevant research here.)

The engagement takes longer, encouraging you to think more deeply about the person you are writing to. And it is received that way, too. Recipients feel seen and noticed in ways that email and even typed letters can’t replicate.

Someone took the time to write to ME.

Passarella offers several tips for handwriting letters (I am excerpting from her directly here because I can’t say it better myself):

Let go of your hang-ups

Don’t worry that your handwriting is bad or you lack fancy stationery, said Gina Hamadey, author of “I Want to Thank You,” a book about writing 365 thank-you notes in a year. “No one is expecting calligraphy,” she said. “It’s a treat to get something tactile, a memento.”

Link it to a routine you already have

A friend of mine keeps a stack of notecards in her minivan to write while she waits in the car pool line. She occasionally writes a letter when she sits down to eat lunch instead of scrolling her phone.

If you keep a journal, consider swapping one day to jot down thoughts to a friend. Letter writing is similarly meditative. Consider keeping a sheet of stamps and notecards in the cover of your journal or the book on your night stand.

End your letter with a question

A question opens the door for a response.

One more thing – perhaps more important for donor correspondence. Typed communication is rarely read linearly. Recipients read the first line, then skip to the PS Note, scanning the paragraphs in between for things that catch their eye.

Handwritten letters are read from start to finish, allowing you as the writer to lay out your message in a straightforward linear set of sentences. When messaging is complex, this can help avoid misunderstandings.

Fundraisers often unintentionally miscommunicate by writing typed letters that they construct in a linear way but are not read linearly, or even completely. The points never get across, and recipients move on without responding.

Handwritten letters take longer, but they are more valuable communication tools. With only so much time available, do what you can:

Consider handwriting five thank you messages each week. Use cards or even postcards that arrive colorfully in the mail. Maybe they are to donors you know. Maybe donors you want to meet. Maybe to super-volunteers. Or people who have meant something special to the organization over a long period of time.

Consider sending handwritten letters when asking $250 donors to make the leap to giving $1,000. Consider gathering volunteers or Board members together to share the activity. This lends itself to working on a long table stocked with stationary, blank cards, and fancy pens.

Consider handwriting the envelopes. Handwritten letters won’t get read if they are not opened. Handwriting the envelope increases the chances that they will.

Also, indicate on the outside of the envelope that it was YOU sending it. Cross out the institution’s return address and handwrite or sign your name underneath.

So much of successful fundraising is personal. Take a little extra time this week to make it personal.

It will be rewarding for you as well – all those extra parts of your brain getting fired up.

Cheers, and Have a great week.

-da

PS: Your comments on these posts are welcomed and warmly requested. If you have not posted a comment before, or if you are using a new email address, please know that there may be a delay in seeing your posted comment. That’s my SPAM defense at work. I approve all comments as soon as I am able during the day.

Photo by Tharushi Jayawardana courtesy of Pixabay