Posted on September 12, 2025

Fundraising starts with a story. There's no getting around it. Without a tragic story, you've got nothing, right?

A great fundraising story must have these few elements:

• It must be true! No matter how tempting it is to embellish, change or add details for effect, don't! The only thing you can change is the name of the person to protect their privacy.
• It must be vivid! Details matter here. You must have enough information to paint a word picture so strong donors can see it happening in real time. Put the donor in the middle of the action, like they're the hero in a movie.
• It must be urgent! You have to remove the donor's temptation to step away, to act later. Because later never comes. Make it crystal clear they MUST act now, or dire things will happen.
• It must be personal! You have to cut out the jargon, the numbers, the dry and dusty facts. Great fundraising is like a heart-to-heart with your best friend. If your campaign doesn't sound like a conversation over coffee, start over.
• It must be about ONE person, place or thing! The Power of One is a fundamental truth in all marketing, including fundraising. Tell one powerful, emotional story about a person in need... or an animal in danger... or a theater under threat of closure. Craft one strong offer donors can't help but respond to. Donors love to help save one person, because it feels possible. It's something they can do, using your nonprofit as the tool to make it happen.

How to Find a Great Story

If you don't have one to hand, I can help. I will gladly interview your staff or volunteers. They see what happens, day-to-day. Their observations are invaluable in creating a great story.

And, if they're willing, I will interview your nonprofit clients themselves. Getting their story in their own words is often the most powerful way to inspire donations.

For best results, the story should be complete. That means the beneficiary no longer needs help. You need their story to create an emotional feedback loop. First, you create tension with dire need to inspire action... then you relieve it with a happy ending to inspire joy!

This next step is crucial for success... and hard to achieve. You use the beginning of their story in the direct mail and email campaign. The pain, the terror, the desperate need is what drives donations. Resist the temptation to finish the story! No happy endings in the direct mail letter.

Only after the donation comes do you send a swift and heart-felt Thank You and finish the story! NOW, you can let the donor know the good they did! Closing this story loop is very satisfying and creates strong donor relationships.

You can also repurpose the same story, beginning to end, in your donor newsletter... emails... in brochures.

I know this sounds hard. But don't worry!

Most fundraisers struggle to tell an incomplete story in their letters. It's natural to want to close that loop.

As a professional writer, I wrestle with that balance, too. But I do it with the trained eye of a certified fundraising specialist.

I start writing already knowing I'm not going to finish the story. I plan for it. There is a method to the madness!

If you want to see how a donor-focused writer can transform your next campaign, please get in touch. You can email me at [email protected], or sign up for a spot on my calendar. Our first chat is always completely free, and zero pressure!