Pack Your Writing and Design With a Valuable Punch

Pack Your Writing and Design With a Valuable Punch

Sept. 27, 2005

By Sarah Durham and Ali Kiselis

When it's time to plan your next annual report, holiday appeal or direct-mail campaign, ensure the writing and design hits your audience where it counts most: their values.

At The DMA Nonprofit Federation's recent New York Nonprofit Conference, keynote speaker Kay Sprinkle Grace eloquently reminded us of the importance of value-based direct marketing. To paraphrase: Values and the corresponding issues and emotions they inspire are the closest, most intimate, and most motivating route connecting you and your audiences. They are also an inherent building block of your organization. If you can make the connection resonate in your communications materials, you'll have a recipe for successful fundraising.

We all nodded our heads in hearty agreement because it makes perfect sense, but do nonprofits remember to put it into practice when it's time to communicate with donors and prospects?

When it comes to writing and design, many nonprofits face the pitfall of focusing too much, or even entirely, on themselves: their organization, their work and how they do things. While that's important information to convey, it needs to take a backseat to what's even more important: your donors and what matters to them. Focus, instead, on how your work impacts them, the issues they care so much about and why they can feel good about supporting your mission.

Inspire donors and prospects to say, "Yes, these guys are addressing something I really believe in. It makes me feel good to give them my money and my support."

Here's a great example of a nonprofit's marketing copy that packs a value-driven punch:

Did you really mean it when you said, "If I could change the world … ?" Sometimes the journey of one affects the journey of thousands. Transform the lives of women and girls in the Jewish community and, at the same time, shape your life in ways you never imagined.