Build your fundraising campaign alongside a proven digital fundraising consultant
Year-end fundraising is an important time for most non-profits to bring in revenue and this year is going to be especially crucial for many organizations. Between inflation, an election year, and lots happening out in the world, organizations must make their strongest case for giving yet while running a stand-out campaign.
But chances are, writing the fundraising appeal for your next campaign is just one of many tasks on your to-do list.
If you do direct response fundraising, be it through direct mail or email, the words people read from your organization have such an important job. What you write is often responsible for convincing people to make a donation.
But despite how essential writing skills are to fundraising—perhaps even the #1 skill we need in this kind of fundraising—it is difficult to find specialized trainings that teach you how to write compelling copy.
And that's exactly what the Fall Story Intensive is going to help you do!
Let's Build Your Non-Profit a Story-Driven Fundraising Campaign!
In my consulting agency, we’ve built a model for developing story-driven campaigns that capture donor attention and raise a lot of money. It’s the same model we used to help Variety BC raise over $1.5 million through email in 15 months.
→ Start by building irresistible key messages
→ Map out an intentional narrative for the campaign
→ Build out personal stories that bring key messages to life
→ Infuse the fundraising asks with the key messages, narrative, and stories
This fall, I'm working with a small cohort of 15 non-profit professionals inside the Fall Story Intensive to learn about and build their Story-Driven campaign.
By mid-October, you'll have the foundation of your year-end campaign built, one fundraising email written, plus a repeatable system you can use to build future campaigns at your fingertips.
You’ll roll into year-end fundraising with more clarity and confidence in your fundraising campaign.
Sydney, Development Manager
Story Intensive Client
The Story Intensive has been a great investment for our organization - I was able to dedicate my time to learning a new approach to appeal writing and email marketing, and I was able to take back what I'd written in the Intensive to my department so we can build our entire Year-End campaign from the ground up! What Vanessa has taught me will be used in all our appeals from now on, and our organization is so much better off for it!
How are we going to accomplish all this by
mid-October? Here’s the game plan!
Together, we will convene for 4 workshops/co-working sessions that give you what you need to build your year-end campaign, plus time to workshop your ideas.
Here's what the trainings will cover.
Session #1 Creating potent key messages that get donors' attention
Thursday, September 26th at 11 am Pacific
In this training, we’ll cover the basics of how to create resonating messaging for fundraising and build your messaging platform for your campaign.
Session #3 Personal storytelling that captures hearts and dollars
Thursday, October 10th at 11 am Pacific
Next, we’re going to source and craft those individual stories that beautifully convey your message and narrative. I’ll help you brainstorm story ideas, figure out what questions to ask and guide you through the process of writing the story.
Session #2 Building a cohesive narrative that paints a compelling picture for giving
Thursday, October 3rd at 11 am Pacific
Once we’ve got momentum with messaging in place, we’re going to start to build the narrative of your year-end fundraising campaign. This is the “story” you’ll tell over the course of the campaign. It’s an often overlooked part of building fundraising campaigns and personally, I think it’s the secret sauce in strategy.
Session #4 Impactful email appeals that weave together messaging, narrative and story
Thursday, October 17th at 11 am Pacific
Bringing everything we’ve worked on together, we’ll end the intensive with appeal writing. My expertise is in email fundraising so I’ll be guiding you through writing a stellar fundraising email. You’ll pick up tons of copywriting tips you can use for direct mail and social media.
Psst… These are not your average workshop trainings.
The trainings inside the Fall Story Intensive are a blend of teaching, co-working, and peer workshopping. That means that while we’re in the training, you will apply what we’re learning to your fundraising campaign.
At the end of each training, you can expect to have work completed for your next fundraising campaign.
In addition to the trainings, you'll receive:
Recordings of all the trainings plus the slides
Worksheets that help you implement what you learn at each training
A 1:1 call with me for additional support and consultation
Year-end fundraising roadmap
A paperback copy of my book, The Storytelling Non-Profit: A practical guide to telling stories that raise money and awareness
Cost $599 USD
Got Questions?
What if I can't make the live workshops? Are there going to be recordings?
Yes! Every workshop is recorded and archived in our online learning hub for you to reference.
How is the Story Intensive delivered?
We meet on Zoom for each workshop.
How is the Story Intensive different from a typical webinar or course?
The biggest difference between the Story Intensive and other webinars on year-end fundraising is the space we create to actually do work together. During our workshops, there is a small teaching component, but we try to keep as much space available for implementation, peer workshopping and feedback. You'll leave each workshop with deliverables completed for your year-end campaign.
Still have a question about the Story Intensive? Reach out to hello [at] thestorytellingnonprofit [dot] com
Jenny, Consultant
Story Intensive Client
So often in fundraising, we "jump" to the writing part. In the Story Intensive we really took the time to understand the overarching messages, and how they would fold into the communications pieces we were creating for our organizations. It made the writing of the appeals so much more organic. I would highly recommend the course, especially for those who are looking to uplevel their writing skills for fundraising success.
Year-End Fundraising is about to get more effective!
I'm Vanessa Chase Lockshin and I'm here to help you make the most of your non-profit's digital fundraising program.
I've helped dozens of clients raise over $16 million through email, including supporting Variety BC build an email program from the ground up that went on to raise over $2.5 million in 3 years.
The #1 thing I've learned from 14 years of digital fundraising is the value of a well designed campaign. And helping clients build cohesive, compelling campaigns is one of the things I do best.
I look forward to working with you in the Fall Story Intensive as we build your best year-end campaign yet.
