Jeff Brooks

I have scary news for you: Brand Experts are looking for you. These slick professionals from the commercial world see your organization the way a hungry lion sees an overweight, three-legged zebra. They’re salivating at the prospect of creating a new brand for you.

In the January 2010 issue of FundRaising Success, Jeff Brooks shared 25 tips for better fundraising copy.

A lot of fundraisers hand-pick the donors who are most responsive to their fundraising programs — and put them in a radically different program. And it’s probably costing them significant revenue.

Here's how it goes: The brand expert says the fundraising campaigns that generate most of your organization's revenue are "undermining the brand." More precisely, fundraising messages don't use the right fonts, aren't faithful to the color pallet and fail to focus on the Statement of Brand Personality.

It takes a real self-abnegation to do fundraising right. It takes discipline and focus to put aside your own preferences instead of donors'. Fundraising from yourself is the easy, feel-good path. But it won't feel so good when the zombies of failure start gnawing on your revenue.

What would happen if you called a fundraising campaign and nobody showed up? It could happen.

You aren't offering anything tangible, so your case has to be pretty powerful.

Here are some of the signs that give fakers away, so you can avoid the costly mistake of shackling yourself to a faker when you need a fundraiser.

Next time you hear one of these legends repeated by a wide-eyed fundraising colleague, you can nod sagely — secure that you know the truth (or lack thereof) behind the legend.

Here are some ways to reach the demanding new donors of our time — don't worry, it's nothing you don't already know.