You’ll find here the information shared at the Strengthening Library Support Through Your Annual Appeal Workshop held on August 15, 2018 – plus much more! I am always looking at what my peers in fundraising are doing. We like to share resources, what works and what doesn’t work and why. Because we all need a little help from our friends.
I’ll be adding to this list whenever I find something that I think might be of interest and can support library fundraising efforts. Please do not hesitate to call if you would like some quick advice, or assistance in finding other resources.
And please share your success! I’ll be happy to post your success stories.
Happy Fundraising!
Pat
The powerpoint deck: The Annual Appeal Letter
Resources:
Fired Up Fundraising/Gail Perry – Internationally recognized fundraising consultant. Excellent blog on writing annual appeals – but check out her books. too. She is amazing in person, but her books and her blog are great. https://www.gailperry.com/resource-center/blog/
Mal Warwick – a standard bearer for the direct mail/ annual appeal piece. Read his books if you need inspiration. He has been doing this for years. Some of it is very technical and might apply more to much larger organizations that can pump some dollars into their efforts, but it may be worth the read. His books on writing the fundraising letter may be just what you need to get your creative juices going.
Available in the WLS Catalog:
- Fundraising on the Internet : the ePhilanthropyFoundation.org’s guide to success online / Mal Warwick, Ted Hart, Nick Allen, editors ; preface by Paulette V. Maehara.
- How to write successful fundraising letters : sample letters, style tips, useful hints, real-world examples / Mal Warwick.
- How to write successful fundraising letters / Mal Warwick.
Online tools to inspire and inform:
This will help you get organized, especially good if you are working with a committee. Creative_Brief_Template
And here is a great handbook created by Executive Printing that covers different kinds of mailings you can do: Jump Start Your Annual Appeal
Resources on Nonprofit Story Telling:
This site is new to me, but from what I have seen so far, it has lots of good advice and ideas that can be helpful. I downloaded her Writers Handbook for you here: The Story Telling Nonprofit Writers Handbook www.thestorytellingnonprofit.com
An excellent white paper on the rational behind nonprofit storytelling and its benefits that just might convince you it is worth the work. State-of-Storytelling-in–the–Nonprofit-Sector
If you are going to get the story – here is what you need to do to get the maximum benefit: storytelling-checklist
Excellent overview and tips to get the story, write the story and share the story: https://nonprofitstorytellingconference.com/donor-sequence/
For great tips on putting together a newsletter that reaps results:
Tom Ahern is an expert, easy to read and understand. I have heard him speak at conferences and he is truly inspiring. Reading his books is almost as good as seeing him in person. This is a quick read that will give you some good ideas, inspire you and you may even find a tip or two that will increase your ability to raise dollars for your library. Read his books – it is worth the time. His website is full of information too. http://www.aherncomm.com/donor-newsletter/
And his books are available in the WLS Catalog!
- Seeing through a donor’s eyes : how to make a persuasive case for everything from your annual drive to your planned giving program to your capital campaign / by Tom Ahern.
- How to write fundraising materials that raise more money : the art, the science, the secrets / Tom Ahern.
And of course you need a database:
Here are some helpful hints from our friends at ELEO.
8 Areas to Consider when Choosing Fundraising Software
10 Reasons to use Donor Management Software
