Quality Beats Speed in Writing to Donors

As a nonprofit fundraising professional, I’ve observed how important writing is to my job. When I was a development director, I remember estimating that I spent more than half of my work time composing and editing emails, letters, newsletter articles, case materials and more. Today, as a fundraising consultant, a significant portion of my time is spent creating and editing drafts of all kinds for my clients, and of course, writing blogs like this one. I enjoy working with language and the art of writing, so it’s fine with me!

One thing I’ve noticed is the importance of “sleeping on” whatever I write. I refer to it as “baking time.” Something happens when we sleep. It’s not just our food that gets digested: information does, too. We unconsciously turn things around in our minds, comparing, contrasting, considering. Somehow, we dig deeper.

Giving my mind the time it needs to “bake” my business writing makes such a difference that I hardly ever send an email, mail a letter, or post a blog without sleeping on it.

Here’s an example: Recently, I was helping a client write a letter to a longtime major supporter containing a special and unusual “ask”. I don’t usually advise soliciting a donor via letter — an in-person meeting is the most effective way to solicit a gift — but this situation had special circumstances, and a letter was our only option.

My client wrote a good first draft. My suggestions were to 1) move all references to finances (including the solicitation) to the end of the letter; 2) acknowledge the impact the donor’s previous gifts had made much earlier in the letter; and 3) focus the bulk of the letter on the difference we could potentially make and how we would go about making it. After shortening the paragraphs and tightening up some of the language, the result seemed good to me, and my client liked my suggestions.

But the next morning when I woke up, the first thing I thought of was that letter. It immediately struck me that we had neglected to include a very compelling component, which was that another major donor (a good friend of the donor we were writing to) had already said “yes” to supporting this initiative, saying we could tell other potential donors about his gift. How could have forgotten to include THAT persuasive piece of information?!

Because I usually advise my clients to “sit on it” before they send important letters or emails, the letter had not gone out yet, so we were able to add what we had forgotten.?

The art of writing — and especially writing to donors — requires balancing many elements and ideas in a succinct yet inspiring way, so it’s not surprising when some of them fall to the back of our brains. ?By turning my attention away from that letter, an important part of the solicitation found its way back into the forefront of my thinking.?

I hope you agree that it’s better to be smacking your forehead with the palm of your hand BEFORE you click Send or drop that letter in the mailbox than AFTER!?

So, I’ll end with the same advice I give to my clients: don’t just write your email and hit Send, especially if the recipient is a donor or board member. If it’s urgent and you can’t wait long enough to actually sleep on it, take some time away from your email or letter to see what else occurs to you when your mind is focused on something else. You’ll end up with better, more authentic and complete communication, which will ultimately strengthen your nonprofit’s relationship to your donor.

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