Thursday December 11- GT emails

Hi !

David Lee Roth: What’s cookin this week 

In this week’s enews…

• Emailpalooza Extravaganza review

• How to compose a fundraising letter

• Great post: What are you doing for your loyal donors?

• Off target from Target 

The solution to the Triple E (enews easter egg) from last week: My favorite Muppets from The Muppet Show.

This week’s edition is gonna be a little bit different. It’s a four in one deal. Keep reading.

Three Stooges: The cash grab review 

If you know me or have been here long enough, you know that I’m not a fan of Giving Tuesday (GT).

In my opinion, it has become a big cash grab by nonprofits of all sizes. Blech.

Each year I receive hundreds of GT emails asking for money. And I decided that instead of just screaming into the void, I’d make lemonade out of lemons.

I present to you my fifth annual Giving Tuesday 2025 Emailpalooza Extravaganza Review!

I opened, read, reviewed and analyzed (spreadsheet lovers rejoice!) all 576 GT emails I received from 104 nonprofits of all sizes. I have prepared four posts in which I use what I read to give you expert advice, tips and best practices about fundraising, marketing, email, storytelling, content, images and much much more.

There are some things I liked and some things I did not. I present it all so you can learn what to do and what to avoid.

These are the four posts:

1. Doctors without best practices

2. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

3. It’s all about the storytelling

4. It’s possible to give subscribers a positive email experience

Dozens of examples, lots of images, some rants. The posts are meant to be educational and help you improve your email efforts.

At the end of each post is a “What do you think?” section. I present something and would love to hear back from you!

Have a read. I worked really hard on this.

Because if organizations turn GT into a cash grab, I’ll turn it into an educational experience.

Arthur Fonzarelli: How to write a fundraising letter

I recently announced the How Do I online conference in January- the conference for staff at GROWING nonprofits (budget below $5 million). I’m using this section to introduce you to one of the conference speakers, fundraising copywriting expert Mary Cahalane.

If you’ve read the posts I’ve linked to in the past, you know what a great writer Mary Cahalane of Hands On Fundraising is. Mary is an expert fundraising copywriter who I have had the pleasure of working with and learning from. Mary has a ton of fundraising experience, including with growing nonprofits. She understands what’s needed to mobilize readers to take action and donate. This includes design, copy, images and more. Mary’s 40 plus years of expertise and experience ensure you’re in good hands when working with her.

At the conference, Mary will be teaching a session titled “How do I compose a fundraising letter.” You’re going to learn how to create fundraising letters which convert.

Here is part of what Mary says you’ll walk away with:

• Communication is about the donor, not your organization

• Simple is better

• Genuine, emotional communication is what works

Lemme add an extra tip from Mary:

Early bird pricing is on right now! Seats are limited so reserve your tickets today for the How Do I conference. Discounts available for multiple tickets.

Hoping to see you on January 20 and 21 where you’ll learn the steps, get expert tips, best practices, how to and practical advice so you exceed your fundraising goals in 2026 and beyond.

Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock: A little of this and that

In this section I’m going to share with you great content I’ve picked out that you can learn from.

1. What are you doing for your loyal donors? MUST READ from Mary! (Hands On Fundraising)

2. 21 ways to say thanks to donors (Causevox)

3. How to reengage lapsed donors with mobile touchpoints (Nonprofit Hub)

4. Internal roadblocks holding back your major gifts program (Nonprofit Pro)

5. The pros and cons of personalization (Nonprofits Source)

Ann Landers and Dear Abby: Not on Target

I am all for your organization celebrating cultural and religious holidays. But before you share any content, check with someone who knows that faith/culture and can confirm that your image and/or content is correct.

Target thought it’d be nice to sell a Chanuka platter. Great! I’d put all my latkes on it.

One problem: They called it a “seder” serving platter. The “Seder” is the meal Jews traditionally sit down to on Passover (which is in a few months), not Chanuka. So almost but not quite.

Many thanks to enews subscriber Emily for sharing this with me!

🎶 The music was off this week. Just needed to get this done with nothing in the background. It happens.

I’ll be back in your inbox next Tuesday and Thursday. Have a great weekend!