November 30, 2008 at 4:01 pm
Many charities ask one of their beneficiaries to write a begging letter. It’s a good idea, as donors get the story from ‘the horse’s mouth’. Multiple Sclerosis Society has a letter doing the rounds by a 35 year-old woman whose marriage fell apart as a result of MS. She is extolling the virtues of her [...]
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November 28, 2008 at 6:16 pm
As it is years since I have given (or, naturally, received) Christmas presents, I am unsure how I would feel about being told my present was a goat for someone I do not know in Ethiopia. Since my principles, in practice, are not as high as they should be, I suspect I might be miffed – [...]
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November 21, 2008 at 6:46 pm
The Smile Train UK, which provides surgery for children in developing countries with cleft lips and palates, quotes a postal address which is a PO Box. But, if you want to speak to someone, it will cost you dearly – as the only telephone number quoted starts 0870….. I always think that unfair, particularly in the [...]
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November 19, 2008 at 5:27 pm
I believe one ‘rule’ of fundraising is to be specific, and to make absolutely clear what you want; don’t leave the prospective donor with doubts, or too many choices. St. Mungo’s seems to be putting this into practice with its emergency shelter appeal for the homeless. The heading makes it clear that it is asking [...]
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November 18, 2008 at 3:40 pm
A flood of requests? Not exactly, but two, by the same post, very much concerned with flooding. While we all know that organisations need funds in advance to meet the next emergency (whatever and wherever it may be), heart-strings are likely to be tugged the hardest when we see (locally or on television) the dire [...]
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November 15, 2008 at 4:20 pm
A letter arrives with a very substantial list of ‘Celebrity Friends’ down the right-hand side of the page. And they are (almost) all people of whom even I had not only heard, but also (in some cases) for whom I have a high regard.
That’s fine for Childen with Leukaemia. But in this situation I tend to [...]
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November 11, 2008 at 5:15 pm
When I get a typical ‘begging letter’, there is comparatively little from which to form an opinion. But, if there are spelling mistakes, it does give the impression of, possibly, a slapdash approach. Clean Rivers Trust managed quite a number of spelling mistakes in a letter signed by the Director, Dr Harvey Wood, with impressive [...]
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