Aug182025
Greek woman wearing laurel wreath

From ‘Resting on Laurels’ to Leading with Vision: A Nonprofit Guide to Moving On

Are you planning to do, more or less, the same thing you did last year for your year-end annual fundraising push?

I mean things like:

  • Recycling the same appeal letter
  • Mailing to the same list
  • Failing to segment your list
  • Failing to clean up addresses and de-dupe your list
  • Using the same donation landing page
  • Mailing only one appeal letter
  • Sending only one or two emails
  • Failing to link to your appeal on social media
  • Failing to ask your influencers to share with their peers
  • Failing to actively encourage recurring gifts
  • Failing to suggest specific ask amounts
  • Failing to ask major donor prospects in person
  • Failing to plan ahead to send a prompt, personal thank you
  • Failing to have a donor love & loyalty plan in place to retain your supporters
  • … the list goes on!

I was moved to write this article after attending an excellent local production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George.”  I found it surprisingly moving, especially the final musical number: “Move on.” And, being me, I was able to relate it to something I find all too common in nonprofit work.

It’s something insidious. Something that kills innovation and inexorably drains spirits.

It’s almost a disease.

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Leave a commentAnnual Giving, Strategy & Management
Aug112025
PHoto telling a story

Facts Tell, Stories Sell: The Fundraising Mistake You’re Probably Making

PHoto telling a story

Does proving your point persuade your nonprofit donor?

It turns out not so much.

At least, not unless your donor is already pretty much won over.

Proof (“just the facts, m’am”), absent persuasion (“once upon a time”), won’t get you far.

In “How to Project Manage Your Nonprofit Story,” I delved into the concept of story vs. data in creating compelling nonprofit marketing and fundraising copy. Stories almost always win out, because human beings are wired for stories.

  • They want to enter into them.
  • They want to become a part of them.
  • They want to see themselves, in some way, expressively reflected in the characters, plot and struggle.

In this way, people are emotionally moved. They shed a tear… get a lump in their throats… find themsselves chuckling, smiling or even beaming with a flicker, or a flame, of recognition, appreciation or gratitude. They are taken out of their everyday lives, and moved someplace else where theyre offered a new perspective.

From this shared perspective, people can choose to act. To become part of the story, in a positive way.

To make a difference. To bring joy to sadness… hope to despair… healing to hurt. To bring the happy ending they wish to see.

Alas, when I review nonprofit appeals, the lion’s share do a poor job of making the story the star.

Sure, you may be raising money with your fact-stuffed appeal. But I’ll bet dollars to donuts you could raise a lot more by channeling the persuasive power of a compelling narrative. So, today I want to delve a bit deeper into why stories beat data.

Stories are persuasive, having the power to change audience beliefs and actions.

If you’re familiar with Robert Cialdini, you’ll know about the six key principles of influence and persuasion that help people to act in the face of uncertainty. And we’re all in that state of uncertainty when we receive a fundraising appeal, right? If you look closely, you’ll see these principles are story-based:

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Aug72025
Making an application list

Create Impact Now: 4 Key Appeal Ingredients That Move Donors to Act

Making an application list

Let’s say you’ve done everything thus far suggested in this fundraising appeal checklist.

✅ You’ve done the groundwork.
✅ You’ve focused your message.
✅ You’ve made it about the donor—not your organization.

Now it’s time to bring it home.

Because no matter how clear or well-structured your appeal is, it won’t inspire action unless it moves the reader.

Emotion—not logic—is what compels people to give. And that emotion is sparked by how you make your donor feel.

Do they feel seen? Valued? Needed? Inspired? Uplifted?

Transform Your Appeal from a Simple Ask into a Powerful Invitation

The final four steps of this 8-step checklist are about speaking to your donor’s best self, inspiring compassion, and stirring urgency.

These are the emotional ingredients that turn intention into action.

Let’s explore them.

In Part 1 we looked at the first four:

    1. You
    2. Easy
    3. Welcome
    4. Heart-awakening

Today we continue with four more.

    1. Best Self
    2. Uplift
    3. Unconditional Love
    4. Urgency

5. BEST SELF

What if part of the reason our sector has so little understanding of our supporters is because we think we’ve done the work of understanding by slapping the activist, volunteer, donor (insert other generic label here) on people?

— Kevin Shulman, Founder, DonorVoice

Donors have their own sense of identity; they’re people first.

Trying to categorize them neatly into donor “personas” (e.g., “Wanda Widow,” “Busby Business Man,” “Suzy Soccer Mom,)” doesn’t work nearly as well as helping them express their best self or selves.

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