HOW TO WRITE BETTER, RAISE MORE, & SERVE MORE
What 22 Thought Leaders Say About The Language Research This Seminar Is Built On:
"What an interesting extension of narrative research, Frank! Indeed, there are hardly any studies (that I know of!) that deal with the effectiveness of story-telling in fundraising—though it's taken for granted, somehow, that without a "good story" one's appeal for funds will not get you far. Let me hear more about what you're up to. It's very "consciousness raising."
Jerome Bruner, PhD
New York University School of Law
"Frank, I tend to throw away many fund-raising letters and I never thought about analyzing the content and determining what works. I am pre-conditioned to favoring certain charities and causes and pay little attention to other solicitations. But your language analysis and findings are critical to practitioners."
Philip Kotler, PhD, Professor of Marketing
Northwestern University
"Frank, this is amazing work, just the kind of thing we should be doing more of."
Grant McCraken, PhD
Research Affiliate, MIT
"This research is a wake-up call based on solid evidence, and it couldn’t come at a better time."
Andy Goodman, Principal
The Goodman Center
"Frank, a very impressive study. Having been in direct mail for more than 30 years, your research is a window to the craft of words and how important copy is to successful direct marketing. In fact, given that twitter only allows 140 characters, I think the ability to write clearly and concisely is even made more important through social media."
John McIlquham, CEO
The NonProfit Times
"I was pretty impressed. We need more research into the ‘soft side’ of fund raising. Story telling is where it’s at!"
Gail Perry, Principal
Gail Perry Associates
"I am interested in referencing your findings in The Nonprofit Marketing Guide. Thanks so much for your contribution to the field!"
Kivi Leroux Miller, Principal
NonProfitMarketingGuide.com
"OMG Frank! Your work is brilliant! This research is profound and needs to be shared widely.
Michael Margolis, President
Get Storied
"Thank you for sharing your research. This is very interesting work and of course extremely relevant for a large nonprofit organization like CARE. We know the importance of language in delivering our message to donors and the public, and it is both interesting and helpful to read your analysis of the current problems that plague written fundraising communications. We've also been testing similar variables that you mentioned in your study, such as simulated hand-written fonts and nonprofit stamps vs. first class rate to name a few. And, we continue to learn from our testing and tweaking of direct mail copy as well. Your research will be invaluable to us as we continue to try to 'crack the code' on what motivates individuals to take action through our direct response vehicles."
Kymberly McElgunn Wolff, Sr. VP of Development
Habitat for Humanity, Formerly Sr. VP CARE
Frank, your workshop was the best seminar on effective fundraising communication I've ever attended! Thanks. I will definitely recommend your workshop.
Russ Gibbs, D.Min, CFRE
Asst. Dean & Director of Advancement, University of Houston Law School
"Dr. Dickerson shared the results of his exhaustive analysis of more than a million words of fund-raising copy. He explains why nearly everything he studied came up short."
Mal Warwick, Founder & Chair
Mal Warwick & Associates
"Dr. Dickerson, I enjoyed hearing that you are another language vigilante struggling to keep everyday writing clear and plain. The subject of fundraising writing has never crossed my path in all my years of teaching various forms of writing. Thank you for your contributions to this craft."
William Zinsser, Author of On Writing Well
Yale, Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, The New School
"Wow, we are true soul mates when it comes to fund raising. Terrific. This stuff is great. I can’t wait to highlight it in my work."
Katya Andresen, C.O.O.
Network for Good
"Frank, wonderful stuff and we’d like our 7000+ readers of The Agitator to benefit from it."
Roger Craver, Founder
Craver, Matthews, Smith
"This research agrees with what almost anybody who spends any time looking at the way nonprofits communicate already knows: Most fund raising copy is wooden, artificial, dull, and ineffective."
Jeff Brooks
Future Fundraising Now & TrueSense Marketing
"Imagine my pleasure realizing you’re the author of the piece I read a few days ago that I hoped to commend in my e-newsletter. One of my chums in the nonprofit world said: ‘Look, we’re NOT all nuts; and here’s the research to prove it!’ Thank you. You've done everyone a big favor. Lousy written communications are costing the industry gazillions in lost revenue."
Tom Ahern, Principal
Ahern Commmunications Ink
"Fantastic. Great job in dignifying what I have also practiced: ‘Write the way you talk.’ I still do it and still dictate all my letters."
Jerry Huntsinger, Founder
Huntsinger & Jeffer
"Frank I'll be brief. Awesome, as my young Canadian associates say. Keep it up and if you get to London--well, if you don’t call me for a pub-crawl you’re not half the man you think you are! Here is to the preservation of wisdom."
John Sauvé-Rodd, Principal
Datapreneurs, London
"I completely agree with your take on the way we write. So much communication sent by great organizations is poorly crafted. And that
makes it difficult to get people to listen to very important messages."
Joan Smythe Dengler, Sr VP
Covenant House
"Dr. Dickerson, as part of his doctoral studies at Claremont Graduate University, in California, recently analyzed more than 1.5 million words of online and printed fund-raising texts to determine how effectively fund raisers communicate with their audiences. While his findings were enough to fuel a 350-page dissertation, his thesis can be boiled down to a few short words: Most fund-raising copy stinks."
Peter Panepento, Asst. Managing Editor
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
"Frank, thank you for providing such an insightful workshop. I walked away knowing what I need to work on and how to improve my storytelling. This was the most useful training I've had as a fundraiser. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge."
Giuseppe Nespoli, Director of Seaver Associates
Pepperdine University
"I am a better fundraising writer today thanks to the Narrative Fundraising workshop at Vanderbilt. Dr. Dickerson revealed the science behind crafting a successful fund appeal, using simple, direct language that tells a compelling story."
Bill Smith, Sr. Director of Grants and Fundraising Services
Second Harvest