15 October 2024 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Bob, why don’t you ask for money in your letters? It’s more efficient to ask everyone for the same amount. Or not to really ask at all, leaving the amount given entirely up to the donor to determine. Even though...
12 August 2024 By David Allen, Development for Conservation When you sit down to write your appeal letter (or renewal letter), who are you writing to? The general public? The membership? The donors? Or to someone specifically? As if you knew them really well. Just sharing good news...
6 August 2024 By David Allen, Development for Conservation I seem to collect books that I never find the time to read. I’m probably not alone in that. I have good intentions. Some are purchased, some are gifted. But all of the hold some significant level of...
23 July 2024 By David Allen, Development for Conservation I started raising money as a canvasser in Eugene Oregon. It was to be a summer job in 1983, and it turned into a career. It’s safe to say I had no idea what I was getting myself...
20 February 2024 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Last week and this, I am drawing a distinction between the form and content of two types of fundraising letters: renewals and appeals. Last week’s post focused on writing letters to people who gave you money last year...
6 June 2023 By David Allen, Development for Conservation I’m still reviewing far too many fundraising letters that fail the most basic test of asking for money. They dance around the idea by asking someone to “be generous” or “give a little bit more” or “renew again...
11 April 2023 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Here’s a quick reminder about writing appeal letters: Nobody reads appeal letters. Writing for someone who will read it completely misses the point. People scan, skip, and skim. If they can’t get the message by scanning, skipping, and...
16 August 2022 By David Allen, Development for Conservation Every so often I get significant pushback from readers either questioning or taking exception to something I have written. I love it when it happens. It causes me to re-examine something I may believe so matter-of-factly that I...
26 July 2022 By David Allen, Development for Conservation It’s a little hard to believe, but there are very few things that can go completely wrong when asking for money. Assuming that the person you are asking has heard about the organization. Assuming that the organization is...
2 No0vember 2021 By David Allen, Development for Conservation I’ve heard from many land trusts around the country that 2020 was a banner year in several respects, at least from a fundraising perspective. In fact this is true for many other land conservation / Nature-related organizations, too. ...