Your donors want that "YOU KNOW ME" feeling. This is the 147th Fundraising Writing Newsletter. If you find value here, please tell a fundraising friend. (Your fundraising friend can ​subscribe here for free.)​

In this issue:

✅ Your mini guide to individual ask amounts in your appeals

✅ Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you

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Wednesday, October 2, 2024
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Hi Reader,

You ever get that "dang, Netflix knows me" feeling?

I got that feeling over the weekend when I fired up Netflix and saw this:

Hmm, "Culinary Class Wars," "Unsolved Mysteries," "Outlast," "Dark Winds," and "Wyatt Earp"?

Haven't watched any of them yet, but yeah, sounds about right! What can I say? I'm a mysterious girl who likes the outdoors and food. You got me, Netflix!

It's a good feeling to be known.

Your donors want this good feeling, too.

One way to do that:

Individual ask amounts.

I hope you're already using individual ask amounts, at least in your reply form. If so, great! If not, that's okay.

In any case, I you'll find helpful fundraising nuggets in...

Your mini guide to individual ask amounts in your appeals

Donors tend to give similar amounts each time they donate.

By anchoring your ask amounts to each donor’s previous giving, you acknowledge their established capacity... and you encourage them to maintain or increase their support. 📈

Imagine these 2 scenarios:

You put a $500 ask in front of an annual donor who gave $50 last year. Oof. Not good. 😬 Your donor might NOPE out right there and then.

You put a $50 ask in front of a donor who's consistently given $500. Yeesh. Also not good. You're practically inviting your donor to "reset" their giving to a lower amount. 📉

Instead, consider the following.

A few effective "ask amount" strategies for your active donors

A Classic Formula: This method respects each donor's giving history while providing options to increase support. This ask string formula is simple, scalable, and (usually) rather easily implemented.

Keep in mind that you can tweak your multipliers and the number of asks in your ask strings.

Here's a tried-and-true ask string formula to get you started:

Gift Table Approach: In this method, you group your donors by giving ranges. This approach could simplify the math for you (depending on your data and system). While not as refined as the above formula, it can do the trick.

You'll need to come up with your own ask amounts and giving ranges, based on your unique needs.

For example:

Alternative Anchors: Typically, you'll want to anchor your asks based on each donor's last gift. But you might also consider these alternatives:

Don't forget 👉 We recommend that you always include a write-in option like “My Best Gift: $____” or "Other: $____" to give your donors more autonomy.

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Now, what about your lapsed donors?

I think you might like this, Reader.

Last month, Jeff Brooks was our guest expert during the all-you-can-eat Q&A session for Tom Ahern's amazing mega-webinar on appeal writing.

Jeff blew our minds with this nugget about ask amounts for lapsed donors (from the transcript):

If you’d like to hear even more of what Jeff said about this (1 minute, 35 seconds), click here for the audio replay.

What ask amounts should be on your donation page?

A donation page is its own thing. You may be unclear as to what your suggested gift amounts should be there.

There's no one-size-fits-all solution — but I do have a handy formula for you!

You can apply this formula to your single gift AND your monthly gift options on your donation page.

​Watch this video to find out how:

Whew, your donors are really feeling seen now!

Just keep in mind, all this is meant to be a starting point.

YOUR success will depend on continual testing and refining based on your donors’ responses. The more you're on top of that, the more you'll actually know your donors. And once that happens, they'll know it and they'll feel it. 💛

Randomly yours: to inspire and recharge you

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

• Fundraisingly Informative — Is Your Email List Trained to Give or to Receive? by Steven Screen (a blog post explaining why it might be better to send an e-appeal at least once a month, even though you will get some unsubscribes)​
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• Admirably Forthright — I Was An MIT Educated Neurosurgeon Now I'm Unemployed And Alone In The Mountains How Did I Get Here? via Goobie and Doobie (a heartfelt and ultimately inspiring video about being true to yourself and following your moral compass)​
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• Largely Wild — Land where 'tough' is an understatement via Wolf of X (a Twitter/X thread featuring 30 striking photos and videos from Australia over the years; scroll down to see them all and be amazed)

Until next time: May your donors always feel known ... because you know them!

Grateful,

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