Thinking in terms of “formulas” for advancement work is akin to thinking that there is (or should be) a “formula” for the relationships within our families or our close friend groups.
When we think of our personal relationships, we easily recognize that there is no helpful formula or equation that works for all of these human interactions, even though each of us has experience with some version of family and/or friend groups.
People and the relationships between them are unique.
But, somehow, many advancement folks believe that formulas should govern our work. And, so, questions get asked, “what is the formula for inviting annual gifts, or for inviting major gifts, or for involving major donors, or for engaging volunteers?”
Of course, the short, but accurate answer is, “there aren’t any formulas.”
There are approaches. There are methods. There are strategies. There are even techniques. But if you do A+B+C-D, you will not always get a, “Y.E.S.”
Having said that, however, I am going to make an exception for direct mail. In fact, there is a basic formula for you to follow when inviting gifts through direct mail. It looks like this:
O(b) + S(c) +I(d) = <R
Where,
- O(b) = an Opening that is brief;
- S(c) = a Story that is compelling;
- I(d) = an Invitation to Give that is direct; and
- <R = increased responses.
Of course, I’m having a bit of fun with this “formula.”
The point, though, is that we can tend to make our direct mail invitations too busy, too complicated visually, include too many messages, and we can invite people to give too generally as opposed to stating a specific, direct request.
Craft a brief, interesting opening, then share a compelling, mission-centered story about lives being changed, educated, or saved, and, then, invite people to give directly and with a specific amount.
That’s it.
When we replicate that formula over and over, we end up receiving more responses and increased gift totals.
