Do you know what keeps your donors up at night?
Do you know how they’ve tried to solve this issue in other ways?
Do you know what their dream is?
Do you know their ideal solution?
Say you’re a museum in a small city. Your donors may come to you because they fear they are not having enough fun, not educated enough, or not cultured enough. Perhaps they are just looking for a place to make friends, or get in out of the rain and see something different. Maybe they’re frustrated artists, looking to be inspired. Perhaps they’re rabid historians, looking for connections to help them in their research. They’ve tried going to the movies, they’ve tried going to the library. Your museum is the next stop on their quest for inspiration. Their dream is to live in a world where they are always creating, always inspired. You help provide this by offering exhibitions, lectures, and classes at your museum. What a cause.
Or say that you’re a small nonprofit that deals with domestic violence. Your donors may come to you because they remember their parents fighting when they were little, and they want to help other children avoid being in a negative or abusive environment. It keeps them up at night, remembering the sadness they felt. Maybe they’ve tried to talk with abusive people on their own, but it wasn’t the right approach or didn’t accomplish anything. Maybe they’ve just stood by, listening as abuse took place. Their dream is to live in a world without violence. Your nonprofit provides the solution by offering shelter, counseling women and educating children with your nonprofit, working towards that dream. That is a cause worth giving to.
Think about your mission in terms of what keeps your donors up at night.
Write from that place, where you can get at their deepest fears, and their most cherished dreams.
You will help them understand how giving to your cause can solve their problems and uplift their spirits as you go on to do the work that they don’t have time or resources to do.