Who should sign your letters?
It's about the message and the messenger.
By Dave Johns
Direct marketing and fundraising are all about targeting selective audiences with focused appeals. It's important to make sure that your appeals come from the right people in your organization. Read on for ideas on making the right match between message and messenger.
We like to see the person with direct responsibility for membership, development or annual giving sign most fundraising letters, especially letters with specific information about goals, program costs and donor benefits. The person who has the direct knowledge and everyday responsibility for fundraising should be the “asker.”
This approach also opens a dialogue between the member/donor and the person who will provide service and answers. When donors call for information or with a problem, they have a familiar contact person they can turn to. It’s also a credibility issue for donors. If they call and ask for the organization’s president or a board member who signed a letter, the person will end up talking to a person in membership or development – and any delay or confusion that ensues never helps to build a lasting relationship.
We save the organization’s president or board member for letters that are sent to mid-level or major givers. This is a more compatible peer relationship and communicates the special importance of such an appeal.
Also, a president or CEO should be reserved for letters built on a big picture issue or a more institutional theme, such as the CBA Respect package. We also have letters written specifically to deliver a personal message from the president -- President's Member Update and President's Appeal. In short, we bring out the big guns for impact when the need is greater or a special announcement is made.
Exceptions: If you’re lucky enough to have a high profile donor or a popular celebrity, such an endorser can be an effective match for the right appeal. Sometimes we use a signer who is responsible for a specific program that needs funding. An example is the Director of Programming for a public broadcasting station. This letter uses a programming theme and asks people to support the development of new programs that are waiting in the wings for financing.
Should other members/donors sign appeal letters?
I know that all organizations have active members who are willing to help, but I'm not convinced that a donor-signed letter is as pertinent unless the appeal is for a special gift and the signer has some official capacity with the organization, i.e., Chairman of the Capital Campaign. There can be real logistical problems with finding a member to volunteer and getting that person to approve a letter. If a member insists on writing his or her own letter, that can be a disaster.
We feel that a typical appeal should come from the person with "front line" duty for raising money. Then the person who writes “Dear Friend” will get a head start in making more real friends for the organization.
Questions? Send us an e-mail for more information. Learn more about Dave Johns and the CBA staff.
