No apology necessary..really.

To some extent I may be a little old fashioned - but I believe a thank you like an apology should never be caveatted with but....and should also be genuine.

Now it is sometimes difficult to say whether an apology is genuine but then you have to look at what the apology is for. However, as a fundraiser I don't personally think you should ever apologise for asking for money. Mainly because, the need for the support should be genuine, and in most cases is constant. That is why I was intrigued to see this land on my door mat.

Now when I first saw it, I must confess I thought it was an apology for some banking or admin error so I opened the envelope. However, it was essentially an ask for me to upgrade my support or rather a letter apologising for asking me to upgrade.

Please don't get me wrong, This is not a criticism of the teaser outer that actually got me to open the letter, neither is it a criticism for asking me to increase my support. My discomfort is actually with the tone of the letter itself because it was so apologetic that it detracted from the reason for asking for an increase and thus the letter was not more effective for it. In fact probably the opposite.

It was a very nice letter. It was warm, said thank you several times for my support and seemed to be genuinely appreciative of what I already do. But I am struggling to get over the apologising because I can't actually recall why they wanted more funding.

I have not ruled out increasing my support because I like Sightsavers and their work, but in my opinion there is a balance between acknowledging the current climate and its potential impact on your supporters i.e. 'I know these are difficult times and you are already doing so much, so thank you' versus a rather explicit apology for 1. possibly causing offence (should I be offended?) and 2. for asking for more to do more.

I appreciate this is a personal view point and would be interested in what you think. I also appreciate that I may not be their key audience and you can't please or appeal to everyone. But coming back to me with my fundraising hat on I just don't think there is any room for a sorry in an ask for support or even an additional ask for support.

If the case for support and/or the imperative to support is clear, focused and relevant then it should not be necessary. After all an apology would not be a reason for me to give, it would be the the WHY and the WHAT FOR that would.

As for the letter - if they removed the lines about causing offence and the explicit I'm sorry - the letter would have been no less polite or understanding of the possible situation I may be in because of the economy or the additional asks from other causes. In fact it would have been fine - and I may have been able to recall why they needed more support. As it is, I can't. I am sorry to say.

So when thinking about copy and messaging for supporters - though it is a challenging time and good to acknowledge that fact, my recommendation would be to not go over board with the apologies and focus more on the case for support, the timing and the relevance for the people you are writing to because from my experience you could go an apology too far and it can hijack the overall message of your communication. Save the apologies for when you mess up.

Many thanks as ever for stopping by.

A fundraising tale of two cities...

Whilst on the metro during a recent trip to paris, a couple got on. Nothing odd in that. At first they looked like any other 60 year old couple that you might see across the world and all seemed to be just so. Then the tambourine and the violin started up.

The reaction that followed was no different to what you would see on the London underground. So as the first rendition started - something from Carmen - I noticed a lot of people shift uncomfortably, avert their eyes and just looked desperately for an escape route. For me, my first reaction was to actually check to see whether I had any spare Euros.

Now, of course a huge assumption was being made by the whole carriage. The assumption being that this couple were playing music for money and it was a fair assumption. For me, what was quite interesting was that despite how lovely the music was, I couldn't enjoy it or engage with it until I knew I could afford the experience.

By the time the couple performed 'La Vie en Rose' the people on the metro were much more receptive and as the hat went around our Euros went in.

Back in London and on the 'misery' line just yesterday, I had a similar experience. This time it was a man in his mid twenties, a little scruffy and dirty in appearance got on. This time no music was played, just a heartfelt plea for some 'change' to help him with a hostel for the night. For many the reaction was the same as in Paris; no eye contact, uncomfortable glances and ipod volume up.

Now just a few observations from my Paris and London tales in relation to fundraising:

• With so many communications coming at supporters these days - there is probably an assumption that everything is an 'ask' of some kind. Now this is all very well if it is, but if the communication you're sending is a feedback or just a plain old 'Thank you, you are fantastic!' Then unless we do more to make that clear at the outset - the likelihood of these vital communications being seen is very small.
  
• Likewise. If we are asking for money, we need to be more upfront about it and not cloak it as something else. People who support you know you will ask them for money at some point and if done correctly and well it isn't a problem.
  
• Be relevant - now this is an obvious point - but it was made even clearer to me when discussing the French buskers with my sister, who said that she was moved to donate just as much about the music choice as the quality of the music being played. Not to say she wouldn't have given if they were playing Pachebel's Canon or whatever, but actually the music was a motivating factor. So we can't underestimate the worth of finding out as much as we can about our supporters and going to them with information and areas of work in which we already know they are interested.


• The London experience showed a bit more of the 'we've seen and heard it before' cynicism so whether this man was genuinely in need or not, for many it was nothing new and many remained unconvinced. I think often we are guilty of doing this with appeals. For our supporters it is probably all too frequently what has been seen before. The challenge therefore for us is about making these 'asks' more innovative and dare I say genuinely urgent - after all putting urgent on something doesn't make it so.


• The other difference between Paris and London was also around the concept of knowing what your money was for. In Paris people were paying for the entertainment, the music and even if the couple were as in need of the money as the man in London, that's not really why they were giving. For the man in London faced with the cynicism around homelessness etc his case for support was not enough to reassure the many that the money was going to where he said it was needed. Donor fatigue? Just not an original case for support? all these things need to be considered in relation to your communications plan.


• Finally the biggest observation from these underground travels is that people really don't seem to like being put on the spot to make such decisions as to whether something justifies a donation or not...of course people still do - as I did, but it is about control and choosing when and how. People are much happier with that.

And just because it is such a great song and it reminds me of Paris - enjoy!

Happy Easter!