Last night I witnessed an impressive piece of fundraising. It happened at the American Mountaineering Museum’s Hall of Mountaineering Excellence Gala, which was almost single-handedly organized and run by my colleague and museum operations manager, Sarah Wood.
The event was well-attended (about 200 people), and included names such as American mountaineer Ed Viesturs and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard. At the beginning of the event, Sarah welcomed everyone and engaged in other niceties with the audience. She recapped the museum’s first two years of operations. Continue reading ‘Learning From a Pro’
One good way for libraries to raise their own money is by writing an appeal letter. This is usually done once per year by the institution’s development officer and mailed to past donors.
Good appeal letters have five elements:
1. A defined project. This is your reason for writing the letter. Even if your letter’s purpose is primarily to support general operating expenses, be sure to call attention to a special concern, project, or event.
2. A personal story. Personal stories that illustrate how your library makes a difference is a great way to draw people into reading your letter.
3. The financial challenge your library is facing. Be clear about the costs associated with your project (see #1) and how donations can make a difference.
4. A reminder of your library’s overall mission and how your appeal fits into it. When you ask for a contribution at the end of the letter, it will be in the spirit of asking the donor to reaffirm his or her support of the library’s underlying mission.
5. A request for a donation. Always be direct in telling people what they can do to make your project (see #1) happen. If it’s money, ask for it. If it’s for volunteer help, ask for it. Depending on your technological capabilities, you may want to refer to the donor’s most recent contribution and ask him/her to increase it by a certain amount.
Appeal letters should be straightforward, simple, and one page in length.
Pay close attention to your library’s homepage. In less than 15 seconds, does it tell you:
- Who you are?
- What your library is trying to accomplish?
- Does it have a tagline that explicitly summarizes what your library does?
The design and content on your homepage should address each question in a way that balances breadth and depth. Don’t overwhelm your reader with too much information. Install “read more” links that allow the reader to dive in deep should s/he decide to.
Keep your homepage content dynamic. Put a tickler on your calendar to change something significant on your homepage at least once per month. Consider using a modular or block design that allows certain features to be easily swapped out. So many of us are visual creatures, so build a library of reusable images that you can use to keep your homepage content fresh.
Simple, dynamic, and compelling content on your homepage will draw your donors in. Don’t forget to put a link to your giving page!
Saw this the other day and thought, what a great, innovative fund raising idea. If you’d like experts to handle it for you, check out www.libraryminigolf.org
What You’re Saying