What's Wrong With Innovative Fundraising?
This is not a column about the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Naturally, every organization wants to discover its own wildly successful viral campaign. But trying to develop a tactical process for replicating that amazing phenomenon is like trying to come up with a formula for a winning lottery number.
Thing is, the Ice Bucket Challenge wasn't even the ALS Association's idea. Someone outside the organization came up with it, and it caught the public's imagination and took off like wildfire. It was like tulip mania or goldfish swallowing, or the Pet Rock, or saying "Wassup."
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Willis Turner believes great writing has the power to change minds, save lives, and make people want to dance and sing. Willis is the creative director at Huntsinger & Jeffer. He worked as a lead writer and creative director in the traditional advertising world for more than 15 years before making the switch to fundraising 20 years ago. In his work with nonprofit organizations and associations, he has written thousands of appeals, renewals and acquisition communications for every medium. He creates direct-response campaigns, and collateral communications materials that get attention, tell powerful stories and persuade people to take action or make a donation.
