Membership is currently closed
Join the Waitlist
  • HOME
  • COURSES
    • Fundraising Fundamentals Courses
    • Nonprofit Storytelling Courses
    • Monthly Giving & Recurring Donations Courses
    • Bequests, Legacy and Planned Giving Courses
    • Direct Mail Courses
    • Communications & Marketing Courses
    • Mid-Level Donor & Major Gift Courses
    • Donor Acquisition and Retention Courses
    • CFRE Certification Courses
    • Digital Fundraising Courses
    • All Courses
    • MEMBER LOGIN
  • COACHING+
  • BLOG
JOINMEMBERS | LOGINLOGIN
Pop Art Great

3 Temptations that Undermine Your Fundraising Storytelling, and How to Stop Them Cold

June 18, 2023
Jeff Brooks
Storytelling
You already know this: Fundraising is built on storytelling. That’s because stories activate the human brain. There are countless types of information available to us – from spreadsheets to photographs – but it’s stories that help us understand, care, connect,…
Read More
Pop Art Robot The Thinker

How AI Writing Can Defeat Your Best Projects … or Not

May 22, 2023
Jeff Brooks
Writing
Artificial Intelligence invaded the members-only community of The Fundraisingology Lab on Facebook recently. Sean Triner posted a letter thanking members of our special community of fundraising professionals for their involvement and their work. What he didn’t say, at least at…
Read More
Pop Are Love 1

Worried about “donor as hero” fundraising? Here’s another way to think about it

May 1, 2023
June Steward
Writing
Trigger Warning: this post contains examples of fundraising that address child sex trafficking. Imagine this. As a smart fundraiser, you’ve put together a compelling appeal. It has an emotional story. A tangible offer. And direct asks in all the key…
Read More
pop art camera photos images

The Right and Wrong Images for Ethical Fundraising

March 27, 2023
Jeff Brooks
Values and Fundraising
Should a fundraiser raise funds by showing photos of people in need, in pain, or otherwise showing weakness? We’ve all seen photos of people (children, usually), often in the developing world, who show clear signs of malnutrition and/or disease: They…
Read More
Pop Art typewriter

Fundraiser: Disobey Your English Teachers to Improve Your Writing

February 20, 2023
Jeff Brooks
Writing
Before I found fundraising, I taught English. Mostly to first-year college students, usually some version of that English 101 course that you remember with either fondness or revulsion. We called it “writing,” but what we were teaching was “academic writing.”…
Read More
Pop art story book

3 Elements of Every Effective Fundraising Story

December 5, 2022
Jeff Brooks
Storytelling, Writing
There’s a lot of theory about storytelling out there. Some of it is very helpful for hardworking fundraisers like you. Here’s what Writer’s Digest says every story needs: Orientation: The beginning of a story must grab the reader’s attention. Crisis: Something…
Read More
5 Proven Ways to Make Your Fundraising Life Easier

5 Proven Ways to Make Your Fundraising Life Easier

November 28, 2022
Jeff Brooks
Productivity, Self-Care
Call me lazy. I prefer to call myself busy. Either way, I’m always looking for ways to make life easier. And you and I are in the same boat: We create fundraising messages, and it’s hard work.  Especially this time…
Read More
Pop Art writer paper

5 More Winning Ways to Start Your Next Fundraising Appeal

October 3, 2022
Lisa Sargent
Direct Mail, Writing
Lisa Sargent’s last post on this blog, 6 Winning Ways to Start Your Next Fundraising Appeal, was so popular, that we asked her to give you even more! Over to Lisa… The right lead on a fundraising letter is like…
Read More
Pop Art on the air

How to Conduct Interviews That Give You the Best Fundraising Stories

July 25, 2022
Jeff Brooks
Writing
Decades ago, before I discovered my calling as a fundraising person, I was a journalist. One cool project I worked on was a series on street musicians who played at Seattle’s tourist-infested Pike Place Market. I’d hang out near a…
Read More
Pop Art Great

Fundraising Story Goes from Good to GREAT [Case Study]

July 11, 2022
Jeff Brooks
Storytelling, Writing
You know telling stories is the better way to motivate donors to give. You’ve probably also seen how that is much easier said than done. One of the main challenges is this:  The story most likely to move donors is…
Read More

SIGNUP FOR E-NEWS AND FREE FUNDRAISING TIPS

Nearly every single email can help you raise more money for your cause. You don't want to miss out.

  • The Moceanic team cares about your privacy and your data. We use the information you give us to send you information that is relevant and helpful to you. You can change what we send you or opt out at any time. Find out more here.

Popular Posts

  • A woman in pop art style standing next to an empty safe with a thought bubble with dollar signs in it US Funding Freeze: Is Your Nonprofit at Risk? Here’s What to Do Now 4 comments | by Jeff Brooks
  • The “Magic Ingredient” for Successful Donor Journeys 4 comments | by Jeff Brooks
  • How to Keep Your Fundraising Strong in an Election Year 2 comments | by Jeff Brooks
  • Donors Are Not You: A Guide to the Differences 2 comments | by Jeff Brooks
  • How to Structure Your Storytelling for Maximum Impact 2 comments | by Jeff Brooks

Topics

  • Activism
  • Annual Reports
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Benchmarking
  • Bequests and Legacies
  • Boards and Fundraising
  • Books
  • Branding
  • Coronavirus
  • Creativity
  • Crises Fundraising
  • Demographics
  • Digital Fundraising
  • Direct Mail
  • Donor Care
  • Donor Love
  • Donor Psychology
  • Equality
  • Financial Emergency
  • Fun
  • Fundraising
  • Fundraising Myths
  • Fundraising Resources
  • Fundraising Training Needs
  • Inclusivity
  • Leadership
  • Major and Mid Value Donors
  • Maths of Fundraising
  • Monthly Giving
  • Newsletters
  • Nonprofit Jobs
  • Offer
  • Pro Bono
  • Productivity
  • Self-Care
  • Small Shop Challenges
  • Stewardship
  • Storytelling
  • Strategy
  • Thankfulness
  • Time Management
  • Trends
  • Tribute
  • Uncategorized
  • Values and Fundraising
  • Workplace
  • Writing

Tags

Adrian Sargeant Amnesty International Case for Support Coaching+ Copywriting Cost of Fundraising Creative Dan Pallotta Data Design Donor Retention Emergency Fundraising Emotion Examples of Good Fundraising Global Fundraising Harvey McKinnon Holidays Integration James Herlihy Jeff Brooks Lynne Boardman Matching Gifts Moceanic Offer Older Donors Pareto Fundraising Pareto Phone Pareto Principle Pareto Squared Phone productivity Proposition Roger Craver Russell James Sean Triner Soi Dog Stewardship Supporter Care Supporter Connection Survey Telephone Testing Thanking Thanking Donors Training Young Donors

Dive Into Smarter Fundraising with Moceanic

Now is the time to jump on board to get even smarter about your fundraising
GET YOUR FREE TIPS AND MORE NOW

ABOUT

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Contact Us

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

  • Moceanic Blog
  • Membership
  • Members Login
  • Courses
  • COACHING+

MORE

  • Terms Of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your Data Rights
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
YouTube
Instagram
RSS
SIGN UP FOR REGULAR, USEFUL
FUNDRAISING TIPS FROM MOCEANIC
  • The Moceanic team cares about your privacy and your data. We use the information you give us to send you information that is relevant and helpful to you. You can change what we send you or opt out at any time. Find out more here.

© 2025 Moceanic.

We are on Climate Strike

On Friday September 20, the Moceanic team is joining students around the world for the Global Climate Strike. We urge you to stand up for our planet and their future by joining the strike and working for change. This does make a difference.

You can close this box to continue to our site. But instead, please find out more about the Global Climate Strike here.

100% FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP

Jeff Brooks’ Webinar: Your Roadmap to Record-Smashing Direct Mail This Year End

SESSION OPTION 1:

New York:  3:30pm Thursday, Aug 23
Los Angeles:  12:30pm Thursday, Aug 23
London:  8:30pm Thursday, Aug 23 
Auckland:  7:30am Friday, Aug 24
Times don’t suit?  Check out Option 2

REGISTER HERE!





The Moceanic team cares about your privacy and your data. We use the information you give us to send you information that is relevant and helpful to you. You can change what we send you or opt out at any time. Find out more here.

By registering for this webinar you have read and accept the terms and conditions


100% FREE ONLINE WORKSHOP

Jeff Brooks’ Webinar: Your Roadmap to Record-Smashing Direct Mail This Year End

SESSION OPTION 2:

New York:  8pm Thursday, Aug 23
Los Angeles:  5pm Thursday, Aug 23 
Sydney:  10am Friday, Aug 24
Auckland:  12 Noon Friday, Aug 24
Times don’t suit?  Check out Option 1

REGISTER HERE!





The Moceanic team cares about your privacy and your data. We use the information you give us to send you information that is relevant and helpful to you. You can change what we send you or opt out at any time. Find out more here.

By registering for this webinar you have read and accept the terms and conditions


SIGN UP FOR FREE FUNDRAISING TIPS

Nearly every single tip we give you could make your cause more money. You don’t want to miss out.

 
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. If you continue to use this site, you agree with it.