| Have you ever played The Mennonite Game? When | | | | personal, to establish rapport between the two of |
| two Mennonites meet for the first time, they soon | | | | you. But how can you be personal with an impersonal |
| start asking each other questions designed to | | | | letter, one that you are mailing to someone you do |
| discover who and what they share in common. The | | | | not know personally and will likely never meet? |
| game goes something like this: | | | | The answer is personalization, particularly database |
| Moses: You look like you're Mennonite. | | | | personalization. Your database is a mine of |
| David: I am. My name is David Martin. | | | | information about each donor. You can use just |
| Moses: Hullo. [Shake hands.] I'm Moses Yoder. Where | | | | about every single fact you know about each donor |
| are you from, David? | | | | in a creative way to build rapport, sound |
| David: Goshen, Indiana. How about you? | | | | conversational, be genuine and strengthen your |
| Moses: Steinbach, Manitoba. | | | | relationship. |
| David: Oh, Steinbach. Do you know John and Mary | | | | Here are a few ideas: |
| Hostetler? | | | | |
| Moses: No, I don't think I do. Where do they | | | | 1. Personalize by first name: Dear Bill, |
| fellowship? | | | | 2. Personalize by last name: Dear Mr. Phillips, |
| David: Bethel Mennonite Church. He's one of the | | | | 3. Personalize by prefix: As a doctor, you appreciate |
| deacons. He's a carpenter. | | | | that . . . |
| Moses: Does he work for Yoder Construction? | | | | 4. Personalize by state/province: Child abuse is a |
| David: Yes. | | | | problem in every state of the union--including Ohio. |
| Moses: I know Cliff Yoder, the owner. His son and | | | | 5. Personalize by date of first gift: When you first |
| my son served together in Belize with Voluntary | | | | supported us in 1991, we were a small, struggling |
| Service. | | | | operation, as I am sure you remember. Not today! |
| David: You must know John and Sarah Statler, then. | | | | 6. Personalize by donor interests: Here is the update |
| Moses: Yes, I do. We're second cousins. | | | | on East Timor that you asked me to send you. |
| David: We had John and Sarah at our church just this | | | | These tips are taken from 53 Creative Ways to |
| past week for revival meetings. | | | | Personalize Your Fundraising Letters, Handbook 23 in |
| Moses: Imagine that! | | | | the popular Hands-On Fundraising Series from Andrew |
| And so it goes, The Mennonite Game, played by | | | | Spencer Publishing. Learn how to build rapport, sound |
| complete strangers the world over to build rapport | | | | conversational, show genuine interest and strengthen |
| and discover what--and who--they have incommon. | | | | your relationships with donors. Learn more here. |
| Your goal is similar when writing a fundraising letter to | | | | © 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. |
| an unknown donor. You want to be friendly and | | | | |