Appealing Fundraising Letters.

Learn how to write and design direct mail appeal letters that attract donors, raise funds and build relationships.

One of the best ways to learn the craft of writing and designing successful fundraising letters is to look over the shoulders of professional direct mail fundraisers at work.

This one-day workshop teaches you the tested and proven techniques that professional fundraising letter writers and designers use to craft appealing direct mail fundraising packages.

• Date: Thursday, October 5, 2006
• Time: 9 am to 4 pm
• Location: Toronto, Ontario. Days Hotel & Conference Centre (Highways 400 & 401, at the airport).
• Presenter: Alan Sharpe, President, Raiser Sharpe
• Early Bird Price: $179 before September 23, 2006—a $50 saving
• Regular Price: $229 after September 23, 2006
• Register: Click here.

This workshop is one of two that Alan Sharpe is offering back-to-back in Toronto only. The other one is on Friday, 6 October (the day after this one), at the same location. It's called Run a Successful Direct Mail Fundraising Program. Read the details here.

You will learn:

• how to grab your donor’s attention with envelopes
• how to start your letters so donors finish them
• how to inspire your donors to give every year
• how to write compelling human-interest stories
• how to write reply devices that generate donations
• common mistakes to avoid in your fundraising letters
• and plenty more

Got a question? Call  our workshop hotline: 1 877 742-7732.

Learn the Insider Secrets of Writing Appealing Fundraising Letters.

The competition for your donor's attention has never been greater. Blame it on Survivor and American Idol. Blame it on cell phones, iPods, Blackberries, digital TV, satellite radio, junk mail, spam and telemarketers. Blame it on the thousands of other charities competing for your donor’s loyalty. But don’t blame your donor.

Your donor, like everyone else, will only read fundraising letters that are, in a word, appealing. That's why your direct mail fundraising letters shouldn’t just appeal for money. They should appeal to the interests of your donors. They should appeal to their emotions. They should appeal to the rational and emotional side of your donors.

Learn how during this action-packed one-day workshop.

You’ll discover:

• how to write and design envelopes that donors want to open
• how to appeal to your donor's interests from the first line of your letter
• how to write letters that inspire and motivate your donors to act
• how to find and weave dramatic stories into your letters
• how to write and design the most important item in direct mail fundraising (the reply device) so that donors respond with the largest possible gift
• tested methods that professional fundraising letter writers use to sound conversational and move your reader along from paragraph to paragraph, right to your conclusion

This workshop is one of two that Alan Sharpe is offering back-to-back in Toronto only. The other one is on Friday, 6 October (the day after this one), at the same location. It's called Run a Successful Direct Mail Fundraising Program. Read the details here.

Workshop materials

You'll leave this workshop with a soundly researched workbook that contains step-by-step, practical guidelines for using the vital skills you've just learned.

A special message from your trainer . . .

Dear fundraising professional,

The most successful fundraising letters today are appealing. They look appealing. And they sound appealing. They state their case for support in terms that resonate with donors, making the cause and the request for funds too appealing to pass up.

Even organizations that have seemingly mundane mandates are finding creative ways to create vivid, captivating letters. You can, too.

During this riveting one-day workshop you’ll learn the simple, proven techniques that professional direct mail fundraising copywriters use today to make their appeal letters more appealing.

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. Register now.

Yours sincerely,

Alan Sharpe, President
Raiser Sharpe

Workshop Outline

Understanding what motivates today's direct mail donor

• why people respond to direct mail fundraising appeals
• why you must stop writing letters and start writing packages
• how to craft donor-centred appeals
• questions you must ask yourself before you write a word
• what all successful appeal letters have in common

Irresistible envelopes

• why your envelope is more important than your letter
• how to choose the best format and size envelope for your appeal
• how to design envelopes that beg to be opened
• how to write teaser copy that entices readers inside
• windows versus closed-face envelopes and answers to other vexing questions
• postal indicias, metered postage, stamps and how to choose between their merits

Greetings, salutations and openers

• headlines, overlines, Johnson Boxes and other top-of-the-letter devices, and when and why you should you use them, or not
• why you should bury the "Dear Friend" letter or suffer the inevitable consequences
• how to date your letter so it looks more compelling (and how not to date it)
• dozens of ways to write your opening line so it grabs your donors and compels them to continue

Keeping your donor hooked

• how to write transitions that move your story along
• how to personalize your letter
• how to make your letters sound like an intimate conversation between you and your reader
• how to translate your case for support into compelling human terms
• when and how to use testimonials to make your case for support vivid

Making the ask

• creative ways to make the ask in your letter
• how to make your ask as appealing as possible to the
  interests of your donor
• how to write your reply device so it generates gifts
• design tips for creating effective reply devices
• reply device mistakes to avoid
• simple ways to upgrade your donors to larger gifts

Inserts

• mistakes to avoid in choosing and using premiums
• how to use freemiums to boost response
• why most appeal packages don't  include a brochure
• buckslips and lift notes, and how to use them to engage your donors and lift response

Got a question? Call  our workshop hotline: 1 877 742-7732.

What others are saying about your instructor

Comments from participants at Alan's 2004 direct mail fundraising workshop in Winnipeg, on direct mail fundraising letter writing, quoted verbatim from their Workshop Feedback Forms:

• "Most helpful seminar of the session" (anonymous).
• "Great tips for creative and effective communication" (anonymous).
• "Thanks for the great tips. Very applicable, practical" (Jessica B.).
• "Just what I needed" (Brian T.).
• "Terrific! Very beneficial" (anonymous).
• "Very practical and useful. Thanks" (anonymous).
• "Well done. Most informative" (anonymous).
• "Very helpful" (Len S.).
• "Very good! Well worth repeating! Very practical and user-friendly" (Graham G.).

Comments from participants at Alan's 2005 direct mail fundraising workshop in Mississauga, quoted verbatim from their Workshop Feedback Forms:

• "Excellent! A lot of food for thought + application. Very energizing!" (Diane P.).
• "The workshop was great. The room was inadequate to accommodate the audience. Choose a better room for this speaker." (anonymous).
• "Very useful information." (anonymous).
<"Very much enjoyed the high energy, interactive, informative session." (Keren K.).
• "Excellent session. Very useful." (anonymous).
• "Excellent practical tips! I was jotting down opening sentences all session long." Avril H.).

Another reason to attend Appealing Fundraising Letters . . .

Your trainer, Alan Sharpe

Today, Alan helps non-profit organizations worldwide to raise funds, build relationships and retain loyal donors using cost-effective, compelling, creative fundraising letters. His clients include Doctors Without Borders, Habitat for Humanity, Greenpeace and Medic Alert. .

Alan has taught direct mail copywriting at the university level (at the University of Toronto) and has published over 200 articles on the topic. As a seminar leader and mentor, Alan coaches executive directors and directors of development to craft engaging, warm appeal letters that win the hearts and minds of their donors.

Alan’s popular email newsletter, Direct Mail Fundraising Today, is read weekly by thousands of professional fundraisers worldwide.

Alan served as Director of Development and Communications for two international non-profits, where he was responsible for strategic planning, annual direct mail fundraising campaigns, major giving, planned giving, major events, publicity and other enjoyable headaches. He lives and works in the other London (the one in Ontario, Canada).

The teaching style that Alan uses is energetic, fun, helpful and memorable.

Workshop Timetable

Each workshop session includes time for questions and discussion.

Come prepared to learn by doing!

There are individual, small-group and class exercises to help you gain the most practical, take-away value from each session. 

Got a question? Call  our workshop hotline: 1 877 742-7732.

This workshop is one of two that Alan Sharpe is offering back-to-back in Toronto only. The other one is on Friday, 6 October (the day after this one), at the same location. It's called Run a Successful Direct Mail Fundraising Program. Read the details here.

Details

Cancellations
You may cancel at any time for any reason up to the day of the workshop and receive a refund minus a $25 service fee. We have to pay someone else a fee to register you and to process your credit card payment. The $25 service fee that we levy covers these expenses that we must incur on your behalf.

Lifetime guarantee
Apply the techniques and skills you learn in this workshop. If you're not 100% satisfied with your results, tell us in writing and we'll refund your entire fee immediately.

Location
Days Hotel & Conference Centre
1677 Wilson Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M3L 1A5
(Near the Toronto Airport at the corners of Highway 400 & 401)
Phone: 416 249-8171
Toll-free: 1-800 267-0997
Fax: 416 243-7342
www.daysto.com

Meals and snacks
Coffee, soft drinks and water are available throughout the workshop at no charge. Lunch is on your own, at any of the nearby restaurants.

Parking
The hotel has plenty of parking spaces at no charge.

Questions
Phone our workshop hotline at 1 877 742-7732 or write to us at

Registration
Register for this workshop here.

Recording
This workshop is fully copyrighted. What you see and hear and hear is the property of Raiser Sharpe. No audio or video recordings are allowed.