# The Deadline Has to Be Real Original field notes by Gratona. The worked cases and templates use invented people and organizations. Finish an appeal claim brief: confirm what is actually at risk, set a date you can defend, say where gifts go and decide what you’ll send if the facts change. Research: Lost and found: A natural field experiment on charitable donations, extinctions, and finance for conservation. ## Reading connection Michael Tanner analyzed two Charles Darwin Foundation campaigns sent to previous donors. One reported a species extinction and the other the rediscovery of a species thought lost. Both described real events. ## Team kit ### Your appeal claim brief Complete it before the copy is approved. Keep it with the draft, and give a copy to whoever answers donor replies. ```text APPEAL CLAIM BRIEF Appeal: Send date: Brief owner: 1. THE CLAIM Sentence in the draft, word for word: What it tells donors will happen, and when: 2. WHAT KIND OF DATE IS THIS? ☐ Program consequence: a named service stops, shrinks or doesn’t start ☐ Finance shortfall: a budget gap, with no decision about a specific service ☐ Matching gift: terms and end date confirmed in writing ☐ Campaign calendar date ☐ Not confirmed yet 3. THE CONSEQUENCE (program consequence only) Service at risk: People affected (number, and who they are): Services not at risk, and why: Last funded date: Who decides: Decision date: Condition (amount, by what date, what counts toward it): What happens with partial funding: Confirmed by (name, role, date, where recorded): 4. THE MONEY Total cost, line by line, with calculations: Already confirmed (source, date): Still needed: How gifts to this appeal are recorded (fund): Confirmed by finance (name, date): What happens to gifts if the consequence goes ahead anyway: What happens to gifts beyond the amount needed: Cost figure the appeal may use, and its exact wording: 5. WORDS The appeal may say: The appeal must not say: 6. IF THINGS CHANGE Who tells the brief owner, and how quickly: Version for a gap that closes before sending (approved: yes / no): Version for a condition that can’t be confirmed by the copy deadline (approved: yes / no): After sending: giving page, reminders, update to recipients (owner, timing): Report-back to donors (date, owner): 7. SIGN-OFF Program (name, date): Finance (name, date): Decision-maker (name, date): Development (name, date): ``` ### Your appeal, in two versions Draft both together and approve them together. Every bracket should be filled from the claim brief. ```text VERSION A: A CONFIRMED CONSEQUENCE Subject: [Service] after [last funded date] Hi [first name], [What the service is, who it’s for and what has happened since it started, in two or three sentences.] [Funding source] pays for [service] until [last funded date]. [Who decides] will decide on [decision date] whether it continues, based on what we raise by [deadline]. [Next period] costs [total]. We already have [amount confirmed]. If we raise the other [amount needed] by [deadline], [what happens]. If we raise less, [what partial funding does]. [What happens if the minimum isn’t reached.] [What isn’t affected, and why.] Gifts to this appeal go to [fund, in words a donor understands]. [Cost figure, worded to show scale.] [What happens to gifts if the service ends anyway, or if more is raised than it needs.] Give by [deadline]: [link] I’ll write on [report-back date] to tell you what was decided. [Name] [Role, organization, direct contact] VERSION B: NO CONFIRMED DEADLINE Subject: [What gifts make possible] Hi [first name], [What the service is and who it’s for.] [Choose one:] [The next period is funded: what happens next, and who made it possible.] [We’re still settling plans for [period], and I’ll write again when they’re confirmed.] Gifts to this appeal go to [fund]. [Cost figure from the brief, worded to show scale.] Give: [link] [Name] [Role, organization, direct contact] ``` ### Change notice to colleagues Send the same day a fact in the brief changes, before anyone answers another donor. ```text Subject: Appeal change: [appeal name] [What changed], confirmed by [name] on [date]. From now: Giving page: [new wording], updated by [owner] by [time] Scheduled reminders: [cancelled / replaced with], by [owner] Donor replies: answer with [wording], [owner] Donors who already gave: [what they’ll hear, and when] Board or leadership report: [what changes] The original claim brief and this notice are saved at [location]. ``` ### Who does what - The development director owns the brief and approves the final copy. - The program lead confirms what is at risk, who is affected and what isn’t at risk. - Finance confirms the costs, the fund and what happens to gifts in each case. - Whoever decides, usually the executive director or board chair, confirms the condition and the decision date. - Donor care answers replies from the brief and passes anything it doesn’t cover to the brief owner. ### Exceptions - A sudden, real loss, such as a building closed after an inspection. Complete sections 3 and 4 with the people who can confirm the facts before approving the first email. - A matching gift. State the match amount, its terms and its end date. If the match is met early, say so on the giving page and in any reminder. - The consequence has already happened. Report it, and describe what gifts will do now. Don’t ask donors to prevent something that has already occurred. - Identifiable people. Describe the service and the numbers. Use a child’s or family’s name, photograph or story only with the permission your organization requires for that use. ### Check whether the brief helped - Every number and date in the sent email matches the brief, and a colleague outside development can trace each one to the person who confirmed it. - Count donor replies asking about the claim, and how many your team answered from the brief without going back to program or finance. - The report-back went out on the date the appeal promised. - If the facts changed, note how long it took for the giving page and reminders to change. - Add a line to the brief for anything it didn’t cover this time. ## Read further Read Tanner’s description of the two campaigns, including what each told donors, before the gift rates. The events themselves differed, and that shapes what the comparison can tell you about your own appeal. [Read the research]() ## Related Atlas tool [Complete the appeal claim brief]() Keep the verified facts, funding terms, review and replacement message together before the appeal goes out.