News Blog

Mind your language!

Last month at the IoF West Midlands conference, Liz Loudon brought a useful reminder of the importance of effective language in fundraising. In an excellent presentation, she gave valuable tips on making an impact with appeal writing.

What rang most true for me was her observation of the power of Anglo Saxon words (and I don't mean bad language!), compared with terms derived from French and Latin. In other words, when writing fundraising copy for individuals, we need consciously to write in Germanic English, not Romance terms, as these connect better with our readers.

Nearly 20 years ago, a fascinating piece in Direct Marketing magazine covered exactly this topic, which has stayed with me to this day. For non-linguists, the story goes like this. Before the Norman invasion, most inhabitants of these isles spoke a form of English, heavily influenced by the Saxon and Viking invasions of the preceding centuries. In an age where few could write, everyday language was dominated by short, direct words and phrases, many of which survive fairly intact in modern English (e.g. words like look, now, free, see, say, gift or good).

Then in 1066 came the Normans, who imposed Norman French as the language of court and used Latin as the medium of education. However, ordinary folk (another Germanic word!) continued to use Anglo Saxon at home.

Over the following centuries, French and Latin terms gradually entered the language, effectively over-laying the native tongue with a new set of vocabulary, which also survives today, giving the resulting language a richer vocabulary. These words tend to be longer and more elevated (e.g. regard, donation, observation, excellent etc).

In practice - and this is the key point - we tend to use Germanic derivatives for every day speech and Romance words for higher, written forms. All of us use these different registers, as they are called, in relevant circumstances. So when speaking to family or friends, we tend to use Germanic terms and when writing academic copy, we often adopt Romance phrases.

The central issue is that in fundraising copy we need to connect directly with our readers and to do this effectively we should use more Germanic language and less Romance. If you are running a direct mail programme, you can test this by writing two versions of an appeal and seeing which pulls best. My money would be on the Germanic every time.

For any fundraiser out there interested in etymology or historical linguistics, this is still an under-researched subject and would make a fascinating PhD topic.

01/12/2011

Friends New and Old

We would like to welcome new clients Women and Children First and the Rudolf Steiner School in Kings Langley, as well as thanking existing clients Graeae Theatre for retaining us again.

07/10/2011

No Will - No Legacy

A good friend of mine is currently enduring the nightmare of sorting out the affairs of an aged relative who has died intestate. It is the last thing she needs and is very frustrating, as the relative in question had been told by all around her...

01/09/2011 - [ more ]

The IoF – Life Goes On

The shock resignation of Amanda McLean as CEO of the IoF has come at a difficult time for the Institute, as it is also still seeking a permanent Chair of Trustees.

I was present at an IoF event last Monday, at which Amanda was expected....

29/03/2011 - [ more ]

Effectiveness versus Efficiency

Every couple of years, the tabloid media target charities that “waste money on fundraising and administration”. So what can you do to protect your charity from this charge?

It’s something we’re all familiar with and can be very damaging...

02/03/2011 - [ more ]

Aiming for Zero Carbon

From 2011 Wootton George Consulting is aiming to become carbon neutral. To support this goal, we will be planting a tree for every new client contract we won during the year.

For many years, we our environmental policy has set out how...

22/12/2010 - [ more ]

Increasing Gift Aid take from higher rate taxpayers

Most charities know about and are using Gift Aid to increase their income from donations. However, there is one aspect of Gift Aid that is often overlooked and which could bring in valuable additional funds to those charities with donors who pay...

26/11/2010 - [ more ]

Barriers to Legacy Fundraising

Over many years in working with charities on fundraising strategies, we had identified that a frequently under-exploited area was that of charitable legacies. This was particularly the case with small and medium sized charities, despite the evidence that they too can raise legacy funds, if they get it right and are prepared to invest even modest resources.

While clients were often keen to invest in other areas, such as trusts, corporates or cash appeals, legacies were frequently left out of the mix altogether, or given a low priority. This is despite the high return on investment (typically 50:1), the strong average values (currently around £35,000 for a residuary legacy and £4,000 for a cash gift), along with the sheer scale of legacy giving in the UK, currently around £1.9 billion per year.

08/10/2010 - [ more ]

Legacy Fundraising - what's stopping you?

In carrying out fundraising reviews over the years, we have come across numerous charities which have really not grasped the legacy opportunity. Yes, they may know that legacies can be good money, with a fantastic ratio of return, but somehow...

28/07/2010 - [ more ]

Catch 'Em Young

The recent study into donor motivations featured earlier this month in the Chronicle of Philanthropy made for interesting – and potentially useful – reading.

I’m normally sceptical about lifting research from one country and applying it...

22/06/2010 - [ more ]

Legacies and DM Appeals

So a DM agency has identified that adding a legacy info tick box to direct mail appeals reduces the cash response rate (3rd Sector magazine 16th March). Big deal!

Of course anything you do to water down an appeal will reduce the response rate. The best results are always achieved by making it clear and direct, asking for one thing at a time, not by confusing the donor with a range of options. But then we knew that didn’t we?

01/04/2010 - [ more ]

Corporates want their pound of flesh

At a recent CSR presentation by a UK bank, I was struck by the highly commercial attitude this company is taking to its community involvement.

OK, we all know the days of cheque book corporate philanthropy are largely behind us (and of course this is the banking sector!), but listening to the presentation felt more like being on the end of a sales pitch than “how we care for the community”.

22/02/2010 - [ more ]

How to manage your fundraising risk

As we all know, fundraising has its risks and so it is important for Fundraising Managers and CEO's to be aware of these and take action to mitigate them. So what are the main risks and what can be done about them?

Lack of a fundraising...

27/01/2010 - [ more ]

Outsourcing - a growing trend?

The trend to outsourcing among UK voluntary organisations continues apace, but why is this?

Firstly, there is often a major cost saving. Not only can a salary be saved, but the add-on costs such as tax, pension and administration can...

27/01/2010 - [ more ]

Troubling Time for Trust Fundraisers

As if the current recession was not tough enough already for trust fundraisers, the threat to the Lloyds TSB Foundations and the announced winding up of the J. Paul Getty Jr. Charitable Trust sound an altogether more worrying note for charities that rely on trusts.

10/12/2009 - [ more ]

Toby and the Tithers

The news that Oxford academic Toby Ord has pledged to give away £1 million during his lifetime - and is encouraging others to pledge 10% of their income to charity - made the national news recently. If Ord had been a wealthy donor, it would still...

30/11/2009 - [ more ]

Putting all your eggs in one basket...

Now I’m not one of those who sees the government (of whatever colour) as the Devil incarnate, but recent warnings about the risks of government funding cuts for charities do make me think “I told you so”.

For the last five years or...

13/11/2009 - [ more ]

More clients renew their contracts

Recent weeks have seen a raft of clients renewing their contracts with us for 2010. The following have asked us for more work, as a result of recent support:

Calibre Audio Library Graeae Theatre Company St George's House Charity...

01/01/1970 - [ more ]