Christmas Fundraising Letters - Make Your Direct Mail Appeal Original But Contemporary at Year End

If your non-profit organization is typical, your direct mail program raises 50 percent of its revenue with one mailing-the Christmas appeal. More people give more money to the "Holiday Season" letter than they give to any other single mailing all year. Your goal this Christmas is to persuade these generous donors to give again. Here's how.

1. Make your message original
Just because Christmas commemorates Jesus' birth doesn't mean your letter has to dwell on the events that took place around the manger. You don't have to show donkeys. Instead, consider the other characters in the drama and find a way to present your case for support through them.

For example, Mary and Joseph are living in a land occupied by a foreign army (sound familiar?). Joseph's fiancé is pregnant with a child that isn't his, but he stays with her and raises the child as his son anyway. Uncommon. The prevailing emotion surrounding the birth of Jesus is fear. The shepherds tremble in the fields. Herod acts out of fear. Mary and Joseph flee for their lives to Egypt.

Christmas Fundraising Letters - Make Your Direct Mail Appeal Original But Contemporary at Year End

2. Tie your Christmas appeal to current events or current themes
The key to connecting with your donors through paper and postage is relevance. Your must present a need that they both understand and care about. One way to demonstrate the relevance of your cause is to tie your case for support in your Christmas letter with the events that are uppermost in your donors' lives right now.

For example, right now, (October 2008), folks in the United States are electing their next president and folks in Canada are electing their next prime minister. The people who lived in Israel during the time of that first Christmas had no voice and no vote, living as they did under a military dictatorship.

Again, your donors are living through a time of tremendous financial volatility. Banks are going bankrupt. Millions are losing their homes to foreclosure. And the stock markets worldwide are crashing. Can you tie any of these themes to the events that Christmas celebrates, such as "peace on earth," "goodwill to all men," and the world's obvious need for some divine intervention. I know you can.

So I suppose you can see that what I recommend you do at Christmas is say something about the season that your readers have never thought of before (be original) while showing how closely Christmas, and your need for funds, is more relevant and obvious today than ever before. The gifts will come.

This book helps . . .
Read Breakthrough Fundraising Letters. Master the proven techniques that professional direct mail fundraising copywriter Alan Sharpe uses to craft breakthrough letters. You'll learn the mistakes to avoid, the best practices to implement right now, and the tips, techniques and shortcuts that you can use for years to come.

Visit http://www.raisersharpe.com/books/Book002_Breakthrough.htm

Christmas Fundraising Letters - Make Your Direct Mail Appeal Original But Contemporary at Year End
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About the author
Alan Sharpe publishes Direct Mail Fundraising Today, the free, weekly email newsletter that helps non-profit organizations raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors. Alan is the author of Breakthrough Fundraising Letters and 25 handbooks on direct mail fundraising. Alan is also a speaker and workshop leader who delivers public seminars and teleseminars on direct mail fundraising. Sign up for Alan's newsletter at www.RaiserSharpe.com.

© 2008 Alan Sharpe.

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