The Rule of 1
I needed a new backpack a few weeks ago, and what should have been a simple purchase turned into a minor crisis.
Thousands of options. Different brands, sizes, materials. Laptop compartments, water bottle pockets, anti-theft zippers, ergonomic straps. I went down the review rabbit hole. I watched YouTube videos of guys named Chad unboxing things in their garages. I even got a recommendation from a coworker that sent me back to square one.
I almost gave up entirely.
Then another friend showed me his new carry-on suitcase from one of the brands I’d been looking at for backpacks. It was really great. And I thought to myself … if their suitcases are this good, the backpack must be great too.
I went home and bought it that night.
No more research, no more comparisons, no more of Chad’s unboxing videos.
My friend didn’t make a pitch or compare it to six other bags. He didn’t try to sell me on all of the amazing features of the bag I ended up buying.
He just showed me something great, and I connected the dots.
I want you to hold onto that image for a second, because it’s the opposite of what most fundraising appeals do
Imagine opening your inbox to find an email from an organization you care about.
You start reading, and there’s a story about a family in need of help that’s moving and well-written.
So far so good.
But then there’s another story about a different family. Then some statistics about the problem they’re solving. Then a note about their new program launching in the spring. Then a list of giving levels $25, $50, $100, $250, or “other.” Then a mention that gifts this month are being matched. Then a P.S. reminding you that you can also give by phone, by mail, or at their upcoming event.
And somewhere between the second story and the spring program launch, you lose the thread.
So you close the email, thinking you’ll come back to it later.
You meant to give. You really did. But we all know you’re not coming back later.
When a donor can’t quickly figure out what you want them to do because there are too many competing things in an appeal, they don’t fight through it to figure it out.
They get confused and move on. Or they get overwhelmed and think, “I’ll come back to this later.”
And later almost always means never.
When we load a fundraising appeal with multiple stories, several giving levels, three ways to donate, and a summary of everything our organization does, we’re not being helpful or thorough.
We’re making the reader do the work our appeal should have done for them.
And making the reader work hard is always a recipe for fewer gifts.
The antidote is something I call The Rule of 1.
The Rule of 1 says that the best fundraising appeals have one story, one way to help, and one ask.
It sounds simple, and it is. The key is having the discipline to hold the line.
One Story
Not your three best stories, not a story plus some statistics. One story about one person whose life looks different when someone gives.
One Way To Help
Your appeal should present a single, concrete opportunity. If you want your reader to give, ask them to make a gift. If you want them to volunteer, ask them to volunteer. If you want them to share on social media, ask them to share on social media. But resist the temptation to do all three. Pick the one that matters most right now and lead with it exclusively.
One Ask
Not a tiered menu of giving options with a paragraph explaining each one. Keep it to one clear, specific invitation. Will you give $50 to do X? When you only have one ask, you make a simple yes or no decision MUCH easier for the donor.
You don’t have to oversimplify your mission or leave important things out. The Rule of 1 is about doing the hard editorial work before your appeal goes out so your donor doesn’t have to do it after it arrives.
I know your work is nuanced and complex. I get it. A good appeal always feels like it’s not giving the full picture. And that’s okay.
The only job of a fundraising appeal is to move someone to give.
Save the nuance and complexity for your annual report.
An appeal letter (even a great one) is rarely going to convince someone to give who has zero intention of giving, and that’s fine because that was never the goal anyway.
The goal is to make it easy for the person who’s almost ready, the one whose heart is already leaning toward yes, to make a gift instead of getting overwhelmed and moving on because we gave them too many things to think about.
Remember my friend who showed me his suitcase?
Be like him.
Show your readers one problem, one great solution, and one action they can take to do something about it.
Then ask for the gift.
They’re smart. They’ll connect the dots.
That’s the Rule of 1.
One story. One way to help. One ask.
Write it on a sticky note and put it somewhere you’ll see it every time you sit down to write an appeal.
Happy Friday, friends.
-Michael
P.S. If you’re in the market for a backpack, let me know. I did an embarrassing amount of research so you don’t have to.
