When Writing for Charity

It Pays to Be Authentic.

About three years ago, I was working for an online donation platform and for the first time in my life I was really charged with helping people gather donations.  For me, it was weird.  I never liked talking about money, let alone telling people how to collect more of it.  But there I was.  And a new world opened up to me.  I learned just how much donations are needed, what they can provide for those in need, and how quickly they can dry up.  Specifically I was tasked in business development to branch out and sell our platform to a new niche of nonprofits.  I decided that since I was passionate about helping animals, that I would contact animal shelters across the state of Pennsylvania (where I happen to live).

Researching, and reaching out to these shelters, I was confronted with story after story of heartbreaking need, and of the amazing work that these people do.  I decided that I had to do more.  As a millennial a few years out of school, I didn’t have a lot of money to donate, but I did have certain skills that I could use on behalf of the shelters.  At first I started knitting dog sweaters.  I thought that I could use my knitting skills to help keep dogs warm while they waited in the shelters.  But after communicated with a few shelters, I learned that my sweaters were doing so much more.  They were helping dogs to heal from mange and other skin conditions, they were calming the anxiety that dogs often experience after being surrendered in a loud and confusing place, and they were helping shy dogs who were long time shelter residents get noticed, and adopted.

As you can imagine – it was at this point that I decided that I needed to amplify my efforts.  I decided that we needed to get a heck of a lot more sweaters, jackets, dog clothes, beds and a host of other items into these shelters.  And to accomplish this, I’d use another one of my skill sets – marketing and communication.  I set up a website, www.fibersforfido.org and began blogging.  I wrote stories about the dogs and the shelters that I was helping.  Then I researched retailers and shops, pulled together an email list and started marketing.  And now, we get to the heart of this post.  How to write and communicate for charity.

When Writing for Charity, Authenticity Is Key.

Coming to people with your hand out can be awkward.  I still get a bit of these feelings when I draft emails and talk to people about donating today.  Its OK.  If anything it means that you are appreciative of the hard work that people have done to earn their dollars, and of their generosity when they decide to give them to you.  Use these feelings to make your message more authentic.  When I email people about Fibers for Fido, I don’t try to be anything that I am not.

For example, Fibers for Fido is not a 501c3.  It’s a charitable project.  And I tell people just that. I’m honest and say that if they want the tax deductible status for their donation, I’ll work to get them in touch with the specific shelter who is the recipient of their generosity to coordinate that for them.

I can use this tactic to my advantage.  Because most of my donations are small, I can tell specific stories fairly easily.  For example, one of the very first donations of dog jackets that I received, greatly impacted one poor sweet shelter dog named Cheez-it.  Petrageous Designs donated an adorable jacket that we were able to give to the Brandywine SPCA.  Cheez-it had been wearing a donated human T-shirt to keep him from scratching and licking at his skin which was suffering from mange.  He kept tripping over the T-shirt because it wasn’t made to fit him.  But when he received his dog jacket – his spirits soared and he healed even faster because now he could romp and play!

For every piece of communication, verbal, handwritten, emailed or otherwise, I tell people exactly what we are looking for and what each of those items will do or will mean to each of our shelter partners.  Three years later, and I’m still working to grow Fibers for Fido – it’s happening slowly but surely and I’m excited to see my hard work pay off.

Why Is Being Authentic So Important?

There is an overabundance of charities today.  Some are great and some have a lot of overhead that siphons donated money away from the actual mission or intention of the charity.  Charity Navigator is a great site where you can check what percentage of your donation is actually making a difference, and what percentage is going to paying for things like staff and rent.  After working with so many different nonprofits, certain ones have come off as slime-y or disingenuous and they are losing people’s trust because they weren’t or aren’t upfront and authentic.  If you are going to ask for people’s money, be authentic.

Other than being honest and truthful about where the money or donated goods are going, what do I mean by being authentic?  Each organization or project has a personality.  It’s OK to show it.  In fact, that personality will likely share different aspects with your donors’ personalities.  You’ll resonate with them.  Fibers for Fido is a animal themed charitable project and our donors are largely pet owners.  Pet owners are different from non-pet owners.  I highlight the things that make me, the project and our donors different – and it resonates with my target audience.

Fibers for Fido is also very small, with limited resources – namely me, and my spare cash.  I don’t try to hide this or pretend that there are a host of people working with me and that this is some highly polished charity.  That’s not what Fibers for Fido is.  If I pretended to be anything but what I am, or what Fibers for Fido is, and people learned the truth, they’d have an overwhelmingly negative perception.  Being disingenuous is not a risk you can afford to take…for more reasons than it just being wrong.

Have I lost donations from telling people just how small my project is? You bet.  But, I would have lost far more if I tried to be anything but what I am.  Be authentic.  Have a consistent voice and tone that is true to your organization or your personality.  Be honest about what you are trying to do and with what you are trying to work.  When it comes to writing for charity, it pays to be authentic.

This Giving Tuesday, I’d humbly like to ask for your support. Please consider making a donation to Fibers for Fido through our partner, GiveBox