Writing Archives | Moceanic

How You Can Learn about Fundraising from the Golden Age of Advertising

February 10, 2025

Jeff Brooks

One of the truly cool things about our private members-only community, The Fundraisingology Lab, is the conversations that come up, and where they can lead. Here’s a recent example: A Lab member—who, for reasons you’ll quickly understand, wanted to be…

Two Books That Will Help You Write Like a Pro

December 9, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Books, Writing

Every fundraiser I know is obsessed with learning. (The ones who think they can do it all with their innate talent never last very long.) The great ones read every fundraising book they can get their hands on. They follow…

3 Ways to Amp up the Motivating Power of Your Fundraising Stories

September 23, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Storytelling, Writing

I have some bad news for you: Stories are not magic. Telling a story doesn’t automatically make your fundraising powerful. You have to tell the right story. In the right way. That’s when the magic happens, and your fundraising goes…

Two Things That Turn Your Fundraising into “Crap” – and How to Avoid Them

August 19, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Writing

“The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shockproof, crap detector.” That’s what Ernest Hemingway said. A super-helpful corollary to that is from author and cultural critic Neil Postman: “At any given time, the chief source of…

Donors Are Not You: A Guide to the Differences

July 22, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Donor Love, Writing

A long-ago mentor once told me that the entire problem with human relationships is this: We judge others by their actions, but we expect them to judge us by our intentions. “He did that hurtful thing because he’s a bad…

How to Tell the Donor’s Story in Your Fundraising

June 17, 2024

Jeff Brooks

Storytelling, Writing

You already know that storytelling is the gasoline, the petrol, of the fundraising car. We tell stories instead of merely stating facts because stories move people to action. You raise a lot more money with stories. Maybe you’ve heard the…

How AI Writing Can Defeat Your Best Projects … or Not

May 22, 2023

Jeff Brooks

Writing

Artificial Intelligence invaded the members-only community of The Fundraisingology Lab on Facebook recently. Sean Triner posted a letter thanking members of our special community of fundraising professionals for their involvement and their work. What he didn’t say, at least at…

Worried about “donor as hero” fundraising? Here’s another way to think about it

May 1, 2023

June Steward

Writing

Trigger Warning: this post contains examples of fundraising that address child sex trafficking. Imagine this. As a smart fundraiser, you’ve put together a compelling appeal. It has an emotional story. A tangible offer. And direct asks in all the key…

Fundraiser: Disobey Your English Teachers to Improve Your Writing

February 20, 2023

Jeff Brooks

Writing

Before I found fundraising, I taught English. Mostly to first-year college students, usually some version of that English 101 course that you remember with either fondness or revulsion. We called it “writing,” but what we were teaching was “academic writing.”…

3 Elements of Every Effective Fundraising Story

December 5, 2022

Jeff Brooks

Storytelling, Writing

There’s a lot of theory about storytelling out there. Some of it is very helpful for hardworking fundraisers like you. Here’s what Writer’s Digest says every story needs: Orientation: The beginning of a story must grab the reader’s attention. Crisis: Something…

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How You Can Learn about Fundraising from the Golden Age of Advertising

Two Books That Will Help You Write Like a Pro

3 Ways to Amp up the Motivating Power of Your Fundraising Stories

Two Things That Turn Your Fundraising into “Crap” – and How to Avoid Them

Donors Are Not You: A Guide to the Differences

How to Tell the Donor’s Story in Your Fundraising

How AI Writing Can Defeat Your Best Projects … or Not

Worried about “donor as hero” fundraising? Here’s another way to think about it

Fundraiser: Disobey Your English Teachers to Improve Your Writing

3 Elements of Every Effective Fundraising Story

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Jeff Brooks’ Webinar: Your Roadmap to Record-Smashing Direct Mail This Year End

SESSION OPTION 1:

New York: 3:30pm Thursday, Aug 23
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London: 8:30pm Thursday, Aug 23
Auckland: 7:30am Friday, Aug 24
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Jeff Brooks’ Webinar: Your Roadmap to Record-Smashing Direct Mail This Year End

SESSION OPTION 2:

New York: 8pm Thursday, Aug 23
Los Angeles: 5pm Thursday, Aug 23
Sydney: 10am Friday, Aug 24
Auckland: 12 Noon Friday, Aug 24
Times don’t suit? Check out Option 1

REGISTER HERE!

SIGN UP FOR FREE FUNDRAISING TIPS

Nearly every single tip we give you could make your cause more money. You don’t want to miss out.

SIGNUP FOR E-NEWS AND FREE FUNDRAISING TIPS

Nearly every single email can help you raise more money for your cause. You don't want to miss out.

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Dive Into Smarter Fundraising with Moceanic

Now is the time to jump on board to get even smarter about your fundraising

ABOUT

HOW WE CAN HELP YOU

MORE

SIGN UP FOR REGULAR, USEFUL FUNDRAISING TIPS FROM MOCEANIC

SESSION OPTION 1:

New York: 3:30pm Thursday, Aug 23 Los Angeles: 12:30pm Thursday, Aug 23 London: 8:30pm Thursday, Aug 23 Auckland: 7:30am Friday, Aug 24 Times don’t suit? Check out Option 2

REGISTER HERE!

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FUNDRAISING TIPS FROM MOCEANIC

New York: 3:30pm Thursday, Aug 23
Los Angeles: 12:30pm Thursday, Aug 23
London: 8:30pm Thursday, Aug 23
Auckland: 7:30am Friday, Aug 24
Times don’t suit? Check out Option 2