Your choice of words must be restricted to the vocabulary of your donors. In most cases, long, technical, obtuse, foreign, unfamiliar words block the flow of communication.Īs a writer, you have a curious set of tools – 26 letters, one zero, nine numbers, and about a dozen punctuation marks. A high IQ, or high information level, has nothing to do with it. Short words increase readability.Įven your most intellectual donor may be discouraged by the presence of long words. ![]() Instead, your reader simply doesn’t wish to cope with the long words. In fact, the trouble is rarely that your reader’s vocabulary is too small. The magic formula does not necessarily reflect the educational level of your donors. Divide this total by the number of words you have in your letter, and you have your magic formula score.ħ5% is excellent – your letter is extremely readable.Now go back and count the number of words containing five letters or less.Count every word in your letter, including the salutation, the closing, proper names, numbers, hyphenated words – everything.CDE project 22: media relations and the public face of charities.CDE project 21: working with suppliers as partners.CDE project 19: evidence of impact and effectiveness.CDE project 18: supporters as champions for your mission.CDE project 16: creating a distinctive service culture.CDE project 15: the role of trustee boards and senior managers.CDE project 14: getting the right people as fundraisers.CDE project 13: giving choices and managing preference.CDE project 12: inspirational creativity. ![]() ![]() CDE project 11: communication with individual donors.CDE project 6: the use and misuse of emotion.CDE project 3: satisfaction and commitment.CDE project 2: fundraising and vulnerability.CDE project 1: the use and misuse of language.The 6Ps: a blueprint for transforming fundraising.SOFII’s letter to the future/ 32 lightbulb moments.
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