Need a good fundraising image right this instant? It's as easy as "twitching your nose." Maybe easier. That nose twitching looks kinda hard. This is the 94th issue of the Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you're feeling bewitched, please forward this to a magical colleague. Thank you! (Magical colleagues can ​subscribe here for free.)​

In this issue:

• Need better fundraising images? Try these 3 quick & easy new tools
• Last chance: register for the donor newsletter & retention webinar tomorrow
• Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

Hi Reader,

Brett and I believe the future we all ought to embrace is fully human ❤️ — with a sprinkle of magic from the wand of artificial intelligence. 🪄

Fundraising images are one area I find can typically use some AI sorcery to highlight the human and the heart.

Can you relate?

If you...

Need better fundraising images? Try these 3 quick & easy new tools

Two of the tools have recently been integrated into platforms you may already be using: Canva (which offers premium features for free for fundraisers) and Photoshop. The other tool is free for all users.

First, here are 1 photo and 2 GIFs for you to preview before checking out the full demo video, if you wish:

1. Canva's Text to Image Tool​

2. Stability.ai's Uncrop tool​

3. Photoshop's Generative Fill Tool​

And now for "the full monty":
​Click here to watch the video I created for you, in which I demonstrate all 3 image generating and editing tools in depth.
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Your "wand collection" is growing — yay!
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Last chance: register for Tom Ahern's donor newsletter & retention webinar (tomorrow!)

Tomorrow: June 15 at 1:00 pm EST.

Please join us for an intense, super-sized 1.5-hour webinar (plus "All-You-Can-Eat" Q&A session) with training by Tom Ahern — whom the New York Times dubbed "possibly the greatest non-profit copywriter on the planet."

In this once-in-2023 MEGA-webby, you'll discover how you can take your organization's newsletter from I-guess-this-might-work to this-one's-a-keeper!

We're also thrilled to have Rachel Muir, CFRE, joining us as a special guest. Rachel is a renowned nonprofit founder and thought leader (endorsed by Oprah). She'll be sharing her expertise on stewardship, retention, and newsletters.

During this premium webby training experience, you'll get the details for many true tales of transformation — e.g., how a simple shift in communication increased a hospital foundation's newsletter donations by a staggering 1,000%.

Your cost: US$139 per computer connection. It's a small investment bound to pay for itself many (countless?) times over when you put the lessons you'll learn into action.

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Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you

For your brain, heart, and funny bone...

• Fundraisingly Informative — The Magic of an Evergreen Fundraising Offer by Sarah Lundberg (a blog post about leveraging the power of your most basic fundraising offers)​
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• Astoundingly Improbable — Walk like you have 4,000 ancestors behind you by Sahil Bloom (a Twitter post about the mind boggling truism that every one of us would not be here if not for all the stars of our ancestors lining up just so)
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• Visually Improving — Clipdrop Uncrop by stability.ai (a free web-based AI tool that uses generative fill to expand the edges of your photos; this is one of the tools demoed by Julie in the video featured earlier in this newsletter)
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• Magically Delicious — The Magically Delicious History of Lucky Charms Cereal​ by Mickey Yarber (a blog post explaining why generations of kids have been "after me Lucky Charms" since the beginning)

Until next time: May you always find the magic in the tools around you — and highlight the human and the heart as you fundraise for your good cause.

All our best,

PS: Here's the latest in our weekly video series, Win It in a Minute. You can (and maybe want to?) subscribe here.

In this video, Tom answers the question:

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