The end of the year is almost here. If you run a not for profit, then that means it is annual appeal season. This can be a very busy and stressful time for you and your organization. A strong annual appeal is crucial to the success of your cause. With that in mind, we have put together a few tips to help you get through this season and have a successful campaign.
- Consistent Communication
- Consistent communication will lead to better results. Whenever possible it is very effective to use multiple points of contact to reach your donors. Send a flyer out a few weeks before your appeal to keep your potential donors thinking about you. This is flyer should remind them about what the goal of your organization is. Then your annual appeal will not seem out of the blue. And hopefully they will have been thinking about you.
- Your Mailing List
- Collecting the information of potential donors is crucial. Throughout the year you need to be getting the mailing addresses of your supporters. Past donors are an excellent group to send your next appeal to. No matter how creative or well designed your mailing piece is, if you do not have a good list then your appeal will not be effective.
- Your Need
- Spell out your need. Explain in detail why you are collecting donations. Your supporters will want to know what their donations are going towards. Explain thoroughly what every dollar will contribute too and your goal for this current appeal. This helps your supporters to understand exactly how they are helping your complete your goal.
- Personalize
- The more personal the better when it comes to annual appeals. This can be very difficult with large mailing lists and projects like this but if you can find a way to personalize your piece towards the supporters it will be highly effective. Many organizations have used a handwritten letter to great effect. Obviously, this is not always feasible with much larger lists, so we recommend selecting some of your strongest supporters and sending them their own letter.
This is a small list with a few tips to keep in mind, but we hope that following this outline can help alleviate some of the stress that comes with annual appeal season. Not for profits do some of the best work in our communities and we wish you all the best of luck on your appeals!
For more helpful information check out our blog at: /advice-from-the-printer/
And for more information on Inkwell Printing Company check out our website at: www.inkwellstl.com