Is your copy working hard enough?

Fundraisers are no strangers to carefully crafted copy. But in the maelstrom of what is already happening and what still needs to be done, it can be hard to stop and think about whether the words that are being written are working hard enough for your nonprofit.

Effectively, with the amount that has to be produced in the course of a week, a month, a year, it can feel nigh on impossible to craft the kind of beautiful, compelling copy that achieves objectives and creates a lyrical sense of wonder every single time.

But when words are such an important part of your worth – and so crucial to communicating what you do, why you do it, and what you have been able to achieve – every aspect of your written output must drip with meaning.

We know it’s hard. Like many other organisations, we send words out into the world, hoping they will touch the hearts of supporters and brighten their day. And we know how difficult it is craft every word to deliver supporters a genuine sense of wellbeing. But we also know it’s essential that they do.

Copywriting is a vital skill for fundraisers. Many will recognise that, although they may be established wordsmiths, they have limited time to review how effectively their copy is meeting their objectives. Others will feel they need to upskill. There will be those among us who believe their fundraising copy to be without fault – but it’s hard to see the wood for the trees, particularly with your own writing, and even the most experienced novelist needs an editor.

Crucially, you don’t know how well your copy could be performing until you stop and take stock. Reflection, ideally with the impartiality of an external eye, is fundamental. We can’t personally oversee all of your outputs – though we would love to – but we can offer you a place on our celebrated, four-week Certificate in Fundraising Copywriting. We limit participants to 20 in this tried and tested online learning experience, and our next instalment runs on January 18th.

Our Certificate in Fundraising Copywriting

The secret to powerful and effective fundraising copy rests in an understanding of the appropriate science and an ability to put it into practice. This course brings together academic research on philanthropic psychology with the very best of professional practice, thanks to our partner in crime – Tom Ahern - a superstar of US fundraising and celebrated copywriter.

We’ll guide you through the principles of philanthropic psychology, and then Tom will show you how it can work in emails, on your website, in direct mail appeals, throughout your campaigns, and even in your acknowledgements and thank you messages to donors.

We believe it’s important not just to give the insights, but to evaluate how you use them in practice. That’s why we offer peer review on assignments and instructor commentary and feedback throughout the four weeks. Sharing your writing with others can be hard - even though ultimately its shared with thousands of supporters. We know this, and work hard to make the learning environment a safe and collaborative space. You’ll get feedback from Tom, as well as Jen Shang (the world’s only Professor of Philanthropic Psychology).

This is one of our most popular courses, and to account for demand we run it four times a year. It is delivered in four modules over four weeks. Entirely online, you can study as and when it suits you, but should expect to dedicate about five hours a week.

What will you get for it?

Many organisations who have engaged in this training double their donations within 12-18 months. But frankly, that shouldn’t be the bottom line. The real bottom line should be how our communications make our donors feel – and we’ll teach you how to build their wellbeing through the right choice of words. If your donors experience love as they articulate their love for others, the rest will take care of itself.

By the end of the course your copy will be supercharged, your confidence sky high, and your ability to make a difference in the lives of your donors will change massively.

So, as the nights draw in and the inevitably ambitious new year fundraising targets emerge, join us to enhance your copywriting capabilities.

Limited spaces remain – find out more here.