101 Terrific Opening Lines for Your Fundraising Letters

By Alan Sharpe (March 2009) E-book  $9.99

Dozens of quotes, statistics, anecdotes, witticisms, provocative questions and other zingers to make your letters irresistible.

Your opening sentence is the most vital  sentence in your letter. You must open your fundraising letters in such a way that you compel  your donors to read on right to the end, and take action. If you lose them here,  you lose them.101 Terrific Opening Lines for Your Fundraising Letters,  the eighth Handbook in the Hands-On Fundraising Series, published by Andrew  Spencer Publishing, features quotes, statistics, anecdotes, witticisms,  questions, blunt admissions, provocative statements and other zingers to help  you learn the craft of writing appeal letters that are impossible to put down.

Follow the tactics of the  professionals that you’ll find in the Handbook and you’ll be on your way to writing fundraising letters that grab  attention and demand to be read.

Peek inside the Handbook

Engage your donors in dozens of ways

• Pose a question (20 examples)
• Tell a story (9 examples)
• Quote someone (5 examples)
• Present an arresting fact (14 examples)
• Poke fun at yourself (2 examples)
• Open with humor (5 examples)
• Intrigue your readers (7 examples)
• Spring a surprise (9 examples)
• Stimulate their imagination (4 examples)
• Get to the point (4 examples)
• Be frank (6 examples)
• Show immediacy (5 examples)
• Tell them what they know, with a twist (5 examples)
• Plus six other excellent examples

Peek inside the Handbook

For these topics, look up these openers

• Advocacy, 41, 77, 87
• Animal Welfare, 12, 18, 27, 39, 63, 86
• Arts, 81
• Child Welfare, 24, 25, 35, 37, 44, 48, 57, 67, 71, 73, 83, 85, 91, 94
• Christian Missions, 5, 10, 13, 22, 40, 56, 58, 66, 93, 98, 99
• Disabilities, people with, 9, 46, 74
• Disease, 14, 15, 20, 30, 65, 67, 69, 72, 84, 95, 96, 100
• Environment, 89
• Government, 1
• Homelessness, 2
• Hospitals, 8, 11, 42, 61
• Housing, affordable, 3, 6, 16, 19, 23
• Mental Health, 97
• Political Activism, 17, 26
• Recreation and Leisure, 28, 43, 45
• Relief and Development, 7, 21, 38, 59, 75, 76, 80, 88, 90, 101
• Social Services, 29, 70
• Television, Community Supported, 78
• Universities, 4, 32, 47, 51, 53, 55, 60
• Women, 77, 92

Also included

• a list of useful reference books for finding quotes, aphorisms, proverbial wisdom and zingers by topic
• four tips on writing effective openings that tell a story
• five tips for starting your letter with a quote

Peek inside the Handbook

Download this Handbook now. Start reading it—and profiting from its advice and examples—within minutes.

Product Details

Format: E-book in Adobe PDF format for immediate download
Pages: 22
Publisher: Andrew Spencer Publishing
Language: English
ISBN: 978-0-9784051-8-2
Dimensions: 8.5 x 11
SKU: sharpe013

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