Writing appeals for delivery by e-mail or through other online vehicles is significantly different than writing traditional direct mail appeals. If an organization’s efforts to utilize social networking and online communications to raise funds are to be successful, then those efforts must take into account the demands of the medium and the unique opportunities presented.

E-mail and other online communication has a much greater sense of urgency and immediacy than direct mail. This can be advantageous when attempting to link a fund-raising effort to a current event. A non-profit can actually use a combination of web-based information, e-mail communication, and social networking tools to become a part of the news cycle from the point of view of their constituents. It gives every organization the ability to reach out to their constituency and make them feel a part of the events unfolding in their community or in the world as they happen. This can be a powerful fund-technique and when skillfully deployed can, correctly, give the impression of an organization responding deftly to unfolding circumstances.

The downside is that it is extraordinarily rare for any online communication to be set aside for future consideration. Response to online communications tends to be either immediate or non-existent. Direct mail, in contrast, “hangs around” and can be consumed and processed on the donor’s time schedule. Organizations that code their response slips so as to tie the reply to the appeal know that donors respond to appeals in a sort of bell-curve pattern with some seemingly writing checks as the letter carrier delivers the appeal and others apparently having filed the appeal for later consideration – sometimes delaying response by a year or more. Online communication, however, tends to either grab attention or vanish into the aether never to be considered again.

So, how do you grab attention? First and foremost is to make sure that your communications are timely. Find the hook in the world that makes your organization’s mission particularly relevant and important at this time. Secondly, don’t ask for funds just to ask for funds. People see giving money as a rather uninteresting form of engagement. Instead, make it clear that by giving money, donors are taking action that will translate into a real difference in the world. Consider the difference between these two paragraphs:

Your gift today will be used to purchase bicycles for children in rural Africa so that they can more easily and more safely attend their schools, which are often located at great distances from home. Please give generously so that we can help these children get the education to which they are entitled.

Every day, children in Africa walk great distances to get to school, often risking dangerous conditions after dark to get the education they know will help improve their lives. Something as simple as a bicycle can reduce travel times, help ensure they can continue their education and make their travel safer. Take action today by donating to our Bikes for School Fund. Let these children know that when they set off before dawn to go to school, they aren’t going it alone.

It’s true that the same technique can be used in traditional, direct mail fund raising. However, online communication seems particularly suited to viewing the “gift as action,” especially when the cause is timely.