When you begin writing a grant proposal, one of the most important things you need to consider is who is reading your proposal. Tom Ahern, author of How to Write Fundraising Materials That Raise More Money, defines the four basic personality types you will encounter as amiable, expressive, skeptical, and bottom-liner.
Ahern suggests some of the best ways to appeal to these types:
Amiable—this side of people responds to faces and their stories. There is the desire to nurture and help people.
- Include photos of faces in your letters (whether these are of the person signing the letter or candid shots from scenes in your organization). Having photos of faces provides a sense of contact.
- Use stories or anecdotes to show how your organization works. Rather than being abstract, specific stories that appeal to emotion are most useful. Ahern says these stories can become “micro-documentaries that instantly interest, educate, and inspire strangers."
Expressive- this personality yearns for something unique, new information.
- Start with a brief interesting statistic or fact- this instantly catches their attention and hooks them. This technique can be used in proposals, websites, emails, letters.
- Research- Ask lots of questions so you can find those unique and interesting facts. How can you promote your program as something daring? What stories do you have about how a life has been changed? What is an emerging trend they can be a part of solving?
Skeptical—Wariness often characterizes this personality. It is not necessarily distrust but they need answers and clarity.
- Make information accessible- Provide answers and the basic information upfront. What areas in your ministry will people need the most clarification on? Short summaries of your history or inner workings are often helpful.
- Make a list of FAQs—This ties right into providing information. Keep track of the questions you often are asked. Build a list of FAQs from this and add these short answers to your website and mailings.
- Provide testimonials- Hearing from other peoples’ experiences is very helpful to establish credibility. Think of a variety of experiences that would be helpful to provide testimonies from—donations, stories within the organization, etc.
Bottom-Liner—These people need a simple call to action.
- Clearly state to your donors what the next step is, what you want them to do.
- If you tell them what the next step is, make this process easy. Include the envelopes for giving, the link to your online donation, etc.
- Don’t be afraid to ask- If you need contact information, include a response card. Just make yourself clear and provide the steps.
Ahern writes, “With these "personalities" in mind your fundraising materials will appeal to the heart, provide real news that will get the reader's attention, provide facts and more facts to quell skepticism, and tell the reader what to do and how to do it.”
It does not require hiring an expensive grant-writer to go about this process. You simply have to know your people. It is about relationships and then reaching out to them.
-- Jessica High is a Research Assistant at Christian Foundation Grants (www.christianfoundationgrants.com) which is a subscription database of foundations that provide grants to faith based organizations. iDonate.com is a website (www.iDonate.com) that allows ministries to receive non cash gifts online