MANILA, Philippines--In teaching grant writing, there?s invariably the question: ?Isn?t there donor fatigue??

I always answer, there isn?t. Donors, be it individuals or institutional funders, don?t get tired giving. Giving is not like a spigot you can turn on or off. Compassion and the more politically correct term ?partnership? aren?t fatigued. If they should stop, it?s for a variety of reasons.

Donors develop other interests. It may be reproductive rights today and gay rights tomorrow, depending on the evolution of interests. It may be about limiting funding because of the times.

And many more just don?t understand what you are saying and, therefore, not persuaded to give donation.

Here are 10 short tips that are essential in writing a succinct, engaging and persuasive fundraising appeal.

1. Make sure you have an outline first. In this order:
What?s the problem?
How will you solve it?
What makes you and your group capable?
How much will it cost?

2. Research. Research. Research. You can?t appeal solely on heart-tugging phrases. How many children exactly are going to be helped? What specific medicine is needed? Where is the problem rooted? Donors want to know and want to know exactly how to help.
3. Highlight one person you will help. Reading about the plight of hundreds of thousands of flood victims make the donor?s eyes glaze. But if you focus on just one person and create a story around it, you elicit a compassion.
4. Donors are faced with so many organizations doing relief work. You need to show yours has something unique.

Is there a medical mission included in your relief efforts?

Are you the only ones in that part of the region doing work?

Your uniqueness is not meant to boast. Donors though like to give to work that makes a difference.

5. What?s in it for the donor? Donors for the most part don?t expect anything. But you must make a donor feel his/her donation did good. A simple heartfelt ?Thank you? is a start. Or an explanation what the donation did to alleviate the situation. Acknowledging where the donation comes from is very important.
6. There must be an inspiring sentence or paragraph with a poignant photo. Describe the face of a child receiving food. There must be a heartwarming story and picture in the appeal.
7. Write with a sense of urgency. A lackadaisical appeal gets no response. On the other hand, an appeal that underlines why they must receive the donation now gets noticed. Don?t sound like you are writing from your desk; instead, sound like you are inches away from the flood waters.
8. Got a solution? Donors often stop giving, thinking their support goes into one limitless black hole. A feeding program will make a lot more sense if vegetable garden training is included. Make a donor feel part of a solution, not an open check book.
9. Which brings us to the last and most important element in your appeal. Give the donors hope. That?s a hard thing to do in a world more adept at whining and tearing down. This, like your inspiring sentence (No. 6), will require significant thought. Hope is pointing at a better tomorrow for the beneficiaries. The donation links that better tomorrow. Your organization will be that bridge. Hope encompasses a large swath of territory, from your immediate community, to country, to the world.
These tragic floods have pointed to deforestation and global warming as some of the culprits. An intelligent donor public wants to hear from you how the donation leads to a hopeful tomorrow. Will relief packages be wrapped in plastic that clogs the sewers that bring on more floods? Will the planned relocation efforts give the flood victims a new lease on life?
A well-crafted fundraising appeal spells the difference between carrying on with the work inching to a solution or dashing hopes.

John L. Silva is a seasoned fundraising grants writer and holds regular grant-writing and advocacy-writing classes. Upcoming fundraising schedules are on his blog, http://johnsilva. blogspot.com/2009/10/write-for-your-cause-write-to-get.html