Dear Fundraising Executive:

                                                       By the way...I haven't updated this site for

                                  several years...and probably never will.

                                  But it only costs $10 a month to leave it up -- so why not?

            Thanks for stopping by for a short visit. 

            And, while you are here, may I share with you a few reasons why I believe my experience can be of value to you the next time you start a creative project?

            Simply put -- it's because I've been writing fundraising letters and packages for a very long time...

           ... short letters ... long letters ... on-line appeals ... e-mail appeals ... soft sell ... hard sell ... religious ... cultural ... social causes ... planned giving ... alumni ... letters to men ... letters to women ... intellectual ... folksy ... emotional ... you name it.

But just how good am I at writing letters? 

            Actually, I'm probably no better than you or some members of your staff, or many other writers you might hire.

            You and I and everyone else have access to about the same information.  We are all diligent craftspeople.  We all have enthusiasm.

 But the difference with me, I think, is that I've written more letters than most people in the business.

            That means I've had my share of stuff that worked.

            And I've had my share of stuff that really sucked.  But I've always tried to walk away from a loser with a few insights that helped me next time I got into a similar situation.

            One reason I've had so many defeats is because I've created a lot of prospect packages through the years.  And about eight out of 10 times, my package did not beat the control package.

            And, in fact, in recent years, I have about a 90% failure rate. 

            But some of those rare packages that worked are still in the mail today.

            (And for a list of charities that have hired me to write letters and packages, please click here.) 

But, am I old, iconoclastic, crotchety, and resistant to new ideas?

            Old, yes - chronologically.  But crotchety?  I've survived in this business because early on I discovered that I have to listen to clients. 

            I have to negotiate with them.  I can't be defensive about my creative project.  If a client doesn't like something I've written, they don't like it.  End of discussion.

            I never try to talk them into it.  I just come up with a better draft. 

            Also, for the sake of survival, I've stayed current with all the latest trends.  No way am I going to be outdistanced by a younger writer who has a better grasp of technology than I do.

            On the other hand, I'm grounded in fundamentals.  Through the decades I've discovered that some things work, some things don't - and you've got to be real dumb to keep on doing something that doesn't work. 

Like most people in fundraising, I never had a career goal of being a writer of fundraising letters and packages and e-mails and on-line appeals.

            Before - and during - my three year failure as a minister, (for the complete obligatory biography, please click here),  I wanted to be a journalist, a novelist, a writer of screenplays, a reincarnation of Ernest Hemingway. 

        And when I finally got a job with a charity as a public relations writer - it turned out that my job was to write fundraising letters.  And since I didn't have a clue about how to write a letter, I was put on probation and sent to the mailroom.

            There I noticed that most of the checks were written by individuals with extremely shaky handwriting.

This resulted in the most important epiphany in my life.

            "Jerry, just write a letter to your grandmother."

            I did.  And later I got my first commercial job - a letter for the Palatine Fathers - and I wrote a one-pager, yes, to my grandmother.

            This letter came in third in a three-way test.  So for my next assignment I wrote a two page letter -- and when that worked, I stopped writing one page letters. 

            In those days, that client fussed because the going rate was $10 for a one-page letter and $20 for a two-pager.  So I compromised and said I'll do a two-pager for $15.  That kept bread on the table.

          In the early years I played a little game.  If I was hired to test against a control, I would count the number of pages in the control and then double it for my package.  Most of the time it worked. 

            Of course, it's not all that simple these days, is it?  Every organization has a different donor profile, different age groups, balance between men and women, Internet-enabled and not.

But back to why I think I can help you write letters.

            I've had a lot of experience "voicing" copy for a letter.  That is, making the letter sound like a real person is writing it - and, in many cases, that person has a distinct personality.

            For example, I've written for many prominent individuals in American life including several Presidents of the United States, movie stars, business leaders, famous folks, and on and on.

            (For a complete list of celebrities I've written for, please click here.)

            And I've studied techniques involved in creating successful fundraising letters, and even had the audacity to write several books about it.  But that was probably a mistake, because I would sometimes end up quoting myself.  And that's deadly.

But, Huntsinger, why are you still writing letters today at age 78?

            Here's why.  After I had a few successful letters under my belt, I started an advertising agency - one in Richmond, Virginia, and one in Los Angeles, California.  This led to a professional staff, to writers, to account executives, and to partners.

            I gave speeches and conducted seminars and wrote professional articles about letters.  I cataloged the rules.  I got my share of awards. 

            And then one morning, I woke up in a Hilton Hotel room, remembering a word used by another speaker.  The Internet.  I was stricken by a terrible fear.  The what?

             I went home that day and bought a computer, and proceeded to get out from under my management responsibilities and sold my companies, and tried to understand the Internet thing.  Without much luck.

            But I started writing letters again and discovered that I was really not very good at it.  So I stopped giving speeches about fundraising letters and stopped writing books and magazine articles on the subject.  I freed myself from my own rules. 

            In brief, that's where I am today.

           And I would like to have the opportunity to write a letter for you.           

What does it cost? 

            Usually, whatever fee is reasonable for you, depending upon the size of your organization and your budget.

            Freelance writing fees are much lower these days than they were five or 10 years ago. 

             Contrary to some rumors, freelancers aren't getting rich these days writing for non-profit organizations.  But it works for me because I don't have any overhead or travel or personnel expense, unlike a regular advertising agency. 

"So what is the basic procedure if I want you to write a letter or a package?"

            First of all, we work together to come up with a concept and a direction. 

            Sometimes the client has a clear idea of what they want to test - sometimes they want me to develop an idea.

            Once that decision is made, I rough out a draft and send that to you.  You look it over.  If you think it has merit, then we edit and polish it together.  If you think it's really bad, we throw it away and start over again.

            When the project is finished, I send you an invoice.  I don't need a retainer or an advance.  Through all the years I've never been stiffed by a non-profit organization. 

            Also, if you'll let me, I'd like to closely monitor the progress as the package is submitted to an art department.

             I don't want to surrender leadership in certain creative areas to a young designer who hasn't been involved in this business before.

             In other words, I want to help you make sure that the letter works graphically, because - going back to basics - some things work, some things don't work.

            Finally, I'm always anxious to review the results with you - whether it's a donor appeal or a prospect test, or whatever.  That way I learn, you learn - and next time we have an opportunity to work together, we have a better chance of being successful.

Do I have a file of sample letters to send to you?

            No.  Once I create a package, review it, look at the package in the mail, I toss it.  Maybe I shouldn't.  But I've found that if I have a lot of old packages laying around, I tend to get lazy about coming up with new concepts.

            Also I've found through the years that clients often prefer that I don't sell my services based on creative projects that they've paid me for.           

            However, I always have three or four or more Word documents of packages, some old and some new, that I can send to you for your review.

What about turnaround time?

            I'm a writer.  If you are in a crunch, I'll work evenings and weekends, or whatever it takes to get the job done.  I will meet your deadline - or, at the very least, if there is a hurdle that I can't surmount, I'll give you a heads-up. 

            Usually, what slows me down is getting adequate background material and direction.  And most of the time there's nothing I can do about that.

What about face-to-face meetings?

            Usually not, unless it's a tremendously large project, or several normal projects.  The phone works good and also, if you have many people involved, Skype is an excellent way of getting people together and talking.  Much better than phone conversations.

Finally, I don't have any silver bullets.

            Often, charities hire an outside writer like me in the hope that this writer will come up with one fantastic package - and that package will save the prospecting program or raise more money from the donor file than ever before.

            That rarely happens.  More often, my successful control packages are a result of three to five, or perhaps even more, packages that were tested and refined until the winning formula was discovered.

            Yes, it's a process that is expensive, both for the creative product and for production costs, and it's time consuming - but it's the only route to success.

            And for donor appeals, a writer can do a job after writing several house file packages and getting in the groove with the work of the charity.  But, whether you want one package or a dozen, I'll work with you.           

Can you write for my charity, even though our philosophy may be different than your personal persuasion?

            Frankly, I don't have to believe what you believe.  Your concerns do not have to be my personal concerns.  But I have to understand what you believe and understand your concerns.  I have to step into your shoes.

            Some writers are idealists and can only write for organizations that are mostly in line with their personal persuasions.  I admire their integrity.

            But that doesn't work for me.  I'm always tremendously challenged by the need to interpret what you believe in a way that convinces someone else to believe it - whether it's a social issue or a humanitarian issue. 

            I become you.  And that in no way diminishes who I am. 

            Also, while we're on this subject, at the same time I'm you, I become your donor.  I imagine myself getting a letter from you and what will motivate me and get me excited enough to take action.

            Enough for now.  Please get in touch, so we can discuss the possibilities of working together.

             Thanks!

             Jerry Huntsinger

            Call me!              757 208 0384 

            Come on over!    110 West Links 

                                         Williamsburg, VA 23188 

            jerryhuntsinger@msn.com  

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