Real Stories About Real People Make a Difference

By Samantha Swaim

Your special appeal is the largest fundraising opportunity during your event.

Not the silent auction. Not the raffle. Not the wine wall.

The special appeal.

And because it is such a large opportunity, it is important to spend significant time and energy on it to yield that return. Your special appeal should not be about facts and figures or programs. Those are important things, but as soon as they are introduced, studies show that giving decreases by as much as 50%.

Your special appeal story should be about real people. A story that makes an emotional connection between your guests and the issue your organization is addressing. It should show how their trajectory was or will be significantly impacted by the work of your organization.

Basic Rights Oregon held its biggest gala yet with this year’s Ignite event. Their special appeal broke all records for their organization. This was as a result of time and strategy.

They created an amazing video to take the audience on a journey. It is the story of one couple. One journey. It is the very human story of love, and how after 42 years, Ed and Warren want to be married in Oregon.

The video of Ed and Warren that Basic Rights Oregon used in their appeal was a very carefully crafted piece focused on making the case for support.

It doesn’t delve into marriage protections.

It doesn’t talk about law.

There are no statistics in it.

There are voices. There are pictures. It simply tells the story of Ed and Warren and the incredible life they’ve crafted together out of love. And it makes a simple request for support so that Basic Rights Oregon can make that happen for them.

And the audience responded in a huge way. When we humanize what we do and make it about people giving to people, the response and giving will follow. Take the stories you have and simplify them, distil them down to what makes them human. The special appeal is that place to have emotional impact on your audience, the place to put your heart on your sleeve. And if you’ve done it well, your audience will give theirs back to you.