{"id":864,"date":"2023-02-28T13:22:58","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T21:22:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/connectionpoint.com\/fundraiserhub\/?p=864"},"modified":"2024-02-21T09:43:12","modified_gmt":"2024-02-21T17:43:12","slug":"writing-a-fundraising-campaign-story-part-3-how","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/connectionpoint.com\/fundraiserhub\/writing-a-fundraising-campaign-story-part-3-how\/","title":{"rendered":"Technical writing advice for digital fundraisers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Technical writing advice for those tasked with writing a fundraising campaign story… but who may not think of themselves as ‘writers’.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Are you staring at a blank page or screen, wondering how to begin this fundraising campaign story, and seriously considering throwing your computer at the wall?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations! You\u2019re now a writer.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At some point, everyone considering themselves a \u2018writer\u2019 has doubted their ability and fantasized about destroying their notebook or computer. My go-to imagery involves Tannerite. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This last piece of our \u201cHow to write a campaign story\u201d series will hopefully help fill some gaps and get your story written down (so you don\u2019t blow your computer to smithereens). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Themes<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

First, read through these themes a couple of times. Understand them, then apply them to your story. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. Be honest and open. <\/strong>I am NOT implying you would outright lie. We all tend to embellish, at least a little, or go in the opposite direction and omit information.  Our intentions are good… we just assume we must say or act a certain way to make our audience more comfortable. Your audience needs to connect emotionally with you (hey, look, that\u2019s the third theme), and they can\u2019t do that unless they hear your truth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The more specific, the better.<\/strong> \u201cWe provide programs to special needs children\u201d is far too broad. \u201cWe give opportunities for those on the autism spectrum to gain their confidence in the real world. For example, last month, we rented an arcade. We turned down the sound and lights, invited a few supportive community members, and our group enjoyed some normal kid things out in public in a safe and comfortable space. They even interacted with strangers and learned valuable social skills.\u201d Re-read your story once it\u2019s written. I bet you could be even more specific. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Harness your emotions.<\/em><\/strong> You are not writing a brochure. You\u2019re telling a story about a specific problem that will change a piece of the world. Skip the formality and have a conversation with your reader.<\/em> Put your emotions and feelings into the story. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    The literal HOW<\/em> to write a fundraising campaign story<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    I like headers. I really like headers. They show my brain where the breaks in a story are, so I\u2019m not exhausted at the thought of reading it. So, I\u2019m going to use many headers here. HINT HINT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Brainstorming<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

    Open a blank document or grab a blank sheet of paper and create a table with each of the seven guidelines in a row. We\u2019ve even got one for you<\/a>. Now, for each point, write down every idea you have. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Can\u2019t think of anything? Here\u2019s a trick taught by my grade 11 creative writing teacher (still one of my favourite teachers ever): just keep writing! <\/em>Sing it with me, Dory style! Just keep writing…just keep writing, writing, writing…what do we do? We write, write, write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Whether you\u2019re typing or using a pen on paper (it doesn\u2019t matter which), start writing everything that comes to mind. If you don\u2019t know what to write, write that down! Do NOT stop; keep going for at least one full minute. Set a timer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s what it\u2019ll look like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\u2019m writing a campaign story but I have no idea what to write, I\u2019m supposed to be writing an opening sentence so I\u2019m going to think about what my topic is, so we try to help kids get in touch with winter sports what do winter sports mean it\u2019s cold as heck so maybe we can make fun of that and say something like \u201chey guys don\u2019t you just LOVE how the air hurts our face in the winter???\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It\u2019s a brain warm-up! Don\u2019t worry about spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.; those aren\u2019t important yet. Give it a try; you\u2019ll be shocked to see what comes from your head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Editing<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Edit for clarity first. Take your favourite points from each of the seven sections you\u2019ve brainstormed and fit them into a cohesive story. You\u2019ll likely need to add some words or sentences to make things flow and make sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Now, have someone else edit for spelling and grammar! You\u2019ve been looking at this for so long now that your brain will skip over simple mistakes because it thinks it\u2019s smart and wants to fix it for you. Fresh eyes make the best editors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Visual appeal. <\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Here are two stories. Just glance at both. Which do you want to read most?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    STORY A<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Graphical<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    STORY B<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"Graphical<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    Visual appeal matters. Some main points on this topic:<\/p>\n\n\n\n