Mother’s Day Appeal – St. Joseph’s Hospital Foundation
“How will they fix your cancer, mommy?”
Oof. Doesn’t that get ya right in the feels?
For this spring direct mail pack, we talked with Mari O’Brien, a breast cancer survivor. Her sweet little boy was 7 years old when he asked her that question. And Mari is driven to do everything she can to help other women get diagnosed earlier — so they never have to hear those heart-wrenching words…
Have a look at the entire pack below.
You can click on the images to expand them.
Outer Envelope - Mother's Day Appeal
The only Mother’s Day gift she’s asking for is more time with her children.
Mari’s daughter and son drew some spring-inspired pictures for us to use in the appeal. We used one of the images for the lovely, personalized postage stamp and another on the back of the envelope. Gotta love those squiggly pencil crayon marks — who says we need to stay inside the lines?!
Designs that make your letter look like it was touched by a human hand help boost your donor’s feelings of connectedness to your message and your organization. And growing the connection with your donors is important because building close relationships is what fundraising’s all about.
Appeal Letter - Mother's Day Appeal
At any moment, another young mom will hear the dreaded words… you have breast cancer.
Inside, is Mari O’Brien’s story. She told us that being strong for her kids is her number one priority. She also wants to help make sure other young moms get early screening and more accurate detection of tumours.
We were moved by Mari’s kindness and her generous spirit. And those bright little drawings just make the letter so sweet and personal. Great job, kids!
The Lift Note - Mother's Day Appeal
Mari’s personal letter to donors is heartfelt and inspirational. She’s passionate about helping others. As she put it, “…now that I’m past my hard part, I want to do everything I can to help the next person.” Such a kind a caring family.
Adding pieces like this lift note to your appeal will certainly pull at donors’ heartstrings and lift response.
The Reply Device - Mother's Day Appeal
What I love most about this piece is the handwritten mesage in the top right from Mari’s son saying thank you to donors. So frickin’ cute.
We try to use a full letter-sized page for our reply devices when ever possible. It’s so much easier for donors to see and fill out. Have you ever tried to fill the numbers of your credit card into those tiny little squares some charities provide? Torture. You don’t want to torture your donors, do you?
I hope these tips are helpful for you. And I hope they inspire you to connect on a more personal level with your donors.