Make Your Appeals Appealing

In Raiser's Edge NXT, appeals are the solicitations you use to bring in gifts, such as direct mailings and online donation forms. Effective appeals inspire donors to choose your organization — out of countless other causes — to give their hard-earned money to. To convince new donors and prospects to give, your appeals need to explain your mission and its importance, as well as what their donations will help you accomplish. As you craft content to persuade donors to give, consider these best practices.

 

Make your content easy to read. Keep your appeal clean and concise — with attractive images — so you don't put off recipients with a wall of text. To highlight important takeaways, leave plenty of white space, and bold your key points.



Connect at an emotional level. To help donors feel a personal connection to your mission, talk like a human with words like "I," "you," and "we." To show the impact of their support, tell the story of a real person who benefits from your mission and the donations it receives. 



Invite a two-way conversation. To help alleviate doubts recipients may have, anticipate and answer frequently asked questions about your organization and the impact donations have on your mission. Invite recipients to connect and interact with your organization online, such as on Facebook and Twitter. For suggestions on how to interact with constituents online with Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, see the Social Media Best Practices Help.



Have a clear, urgent call-to-action. End your appeal with a specific ask — such as to donate, volunteer, or sign up for email newsletters — and provide clear, direct instructions on how to do so. To persuade recipients to act now, explain the immediate need for their donations or support and the impact they'll have.



For more information about appeals in Raiser's Edge NXT, check out the Appeals Help.



To keep the conversation going, how does your organization ensure effective appeals and solicitations?