Tell Your Story – & Raise More Money!
Telling your story
The key to inspiring people to give to your charity isn’t a brilliantly located DONATE NOW button on your website and it isn’t how robust or clear your processes and procedures are.
It’s telling people what you do and who you help by writing with emotion.
If you tell your story in an interesting and engaging way, people are more likely to support your charity… and you don’t need to be the next JK Rowling to achieve it.
I know people often struggle with writing their story because they worry about getting everything in or what they’re going to say next – and of course, it’s true that writing gets easier with practice. So if you’re starting out and need to get your first application out the door or are trying to craft a letter to a potential sponsor, or perhaps write your Fundraising Page for your website, follow a few simple rules to help you get started:
- Write your bid in full. Just sit down and write (you can worry about flow later, now it’s about getting it all down).
- Then put it down, go away – even leave it for a couple of days if you need to – before coming back and editing it with fresh eyes.
- Make sure the sentences are short and snappy; that the paragraphs don’t drag on for pages; and that you’re not repeating yourself.
- Be ruthless. Pretend someone else wrote it.
- Once you’ve done this, get someone who doesn’t know your project or organisation well to read it. Do they understand what you’re trying to achieve?
For more ideas about writing with passion, I like this post from Jeff Brooks on How Not to Be a Boring Fundraiser. I like it because it’s simple:
“Think of your mission as a destination. It’s not about processes or philosophy. It’s about outcomes.”
