Fundraising, Nonprofit, Fiction
Promotional, Nonprofit, Fundraising, Kids/Family, Music, Relationships, Self Help, Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Young Adult, New Adult
Sarah graduated from the University of Michigan with a grade point average of 3.89. As a member of the Residential College, a small liberal arts residential and academic community within the larger university, Sarah fulfilled extensive language and writing requirements on top of regular academic activities. A highly active member of the Michigan Marching Band, Sarah exhibited strong leadership capabilities as Section Leader and as Vice President for Membership of the Nu Chapter of Kappa Kappa Psi, the national co-ed fraternity for band members.
During her time at SIT, Sarah played a major part in producing an original theatrical piece for the purposes of conflict transformation between SIT's student body and a changing administrative environment which seemed to place cost effectiveness before the well-being and interests of students, staff, and faculty. The project involved months of preparation including active listening interviews with all stakeholders in the conflict, and consolidating each viewpoint into acts of theatre, performed for a campus audience made up of representatives from all sides of the conflict. The piece brought a lot of voices together in the room that had not heard each other before, in the "safe" space of an art project, and made significant headway in the constructive resolution of the campus conflict.
In the 5 years of Sarah's career in the nonprofit sector, she has written hundreds of grant proposals, grant reports, direct mail appeals, email appeals, Facebook and Twitter posts, website copy, e-newsletter articles, letters of inquiry, thank you letters, text message alerts and appeals, copy and design for marketing materials (such as brochures, annual reports, online ads, one-page briefs, post cards, book marks, magnets, posters, flyers, hand-outs, T-shirts, give-aways, table cards, etc.), and more. Below is a sample of the type of writing Sarah does for nonprofit fundraising - the below is taken from a grant proposal narrative, but can be adapted for multiple purposes.
As a fundraiser, Sarah's writing expertise often crosses into the field of marketing, especially when it comes to championing the mission-related work of a nonprofit organization, promoting upcoming events, and soliciting donations. A successful fundraising strategy inspires potential donors from diverse backgrounds and interests, with targeted marketing and donor-(customer-)centric language, free of jargon, clear, concise, and to the point. Below is a sample of a one-page brief Sarah wrote for nonprofit organization to use for marketing purposes.
Sarah is a new mother and very interested in writing for kids and families. She is eager to share her experiences with others and to provide educational and entertaining information for other new parents and families. Below is an excerpt from a product review Sarah wrote for a clothing item she recently purchased for her son.
As a fundraising professional, the bulk of Sarah's work has been in the researching, writing, editing, submitting, and managing of grant proposals. Proposals include narrative about the organization which is requesting funds, as well as more specific, sometimes technical language about the program or project to be funded (if funds are being requested for a specific program or project). This technical language typically includes a statement of need/the problem to be addressed, program goals, objectives, outcomes, measurement tools, sustainability, and budget. About 30% of Sarah's grant proposals, spanning her career, have resulted in successful funding. Below is a sample of a recent grant proposal Sarah wrote for a nonprofit agency, which was successful in being funded.
Throughout her fundraising career, Sarah has worked extensively in communications and marketing, both as a direct communicator and in conjunction with a separate communications and/or marketing department within the organization. In addition to the many email blasts she has created to accompany direct mail fundraising appeals, Sarah has also utilized social media (Facebook and Twitter), organization websites, and other online media to reach out to potential and current donors. Understanding the different language forms required for different online platforms (brief and pithy for social media, conversational for email, etc.) is key to engaging and connecting with audiences who prefer to interact via one or many channels. Below is a sample of a recent email Sarah wrote as part of a multi-message campaign to engage Monthly Donors for a nonprofit agency.
In her Development career spanning several nonprofit organizations in New York City, Sarah has written, edited, formatted, printed, mailed, analyzed and coordinated 8 separate direct mail appeals, each with varying degrees of list segmentation (different letters going to different types of donors and prospects), to lists of addressees from 1,000 to 50,000 individuals. Each appeal was successful in meeting fundraising goals, bringing in significantly more than was spent on each appeal, contributing highly to each organization's overall fundraising revenue, engaging new donors, and re-engaging lapsed donors. Below is a sample of a recent direct mail appeal letter that Sarah wrote for a nonprofit agency.