When the Annual Fund Renewal Letter Misses the Mark
Last spring, our local public radio and television stations merged in order to strengthen, unify, and expand audiences for the region’s public media outlets—or so said the boards of the two formerly separate organizations. Nonprofit mergers are often enacted for economic reasons to address fiscal concerns and create operating efficiencies, so I was wary. And when the first action taken by the new CEO was to rename and rebrand the blended entity, which struck me as a hollow gesture, I wondered if more would be lost than gained.
Sadly for me and many other listeners, the merger ushered in the retirement of a longstanding public radio executive and veteran journalist who had brought his inspired style of broadcasting from the Midwest to Southern New England over a decade ago. What a loss for our region! And based on the annual appeal letter that I received the other day, something else went missing, too—a sense of gravitas, authentic connection, and palpable commitment to the greater community where I and others call home.
As one of the first “personalized” communiques from the new leadership, the letter asked me, a long-tenured donor, to renew my support. But the messaging really rubbed me the wrong way. It was impersonal, poorly written, casual bordering on flip, and lacked any sense of depth. A good AI prompt could have generated a better result.
Here’s the letter with identifying information redacted in brackets:
Your last renewal gift: [$XXX]
Dear Anne:
It’s time to renew your support.
Last time around, you sent us a much-needed [$XXX]. We already thanked you and used the donation to fund our unique productions. The same amount again would be fantastic. Perhaps a little more if you can stretch it and you think we’ve earned it.
Because [public media] isn’t only for you — it’s for a lot of other people across the [region] who depend on us for worthwhile news and entertainment. There are some in our community who don’t have money for cable, streaming services, museums, concerts, and all the other ways we sharpen our minds and see more of the world, but through a gift like yours, they always have [us].
In this simple way, renewing today will have two worthwhile outcomes. Your donation keeps [our regional public media outlet] in your life, as well as goes on to educate and inspire your friends, family, neighbors and thousands of people you may never meet.
I don’t know what to say to such generosity…another “thank you” doesn’t cut it. So let me make a promise instead. [We] will turn your hard-earned dollars into quality programs that you’ll be proud to share with your community.
I know you have high standards, Anne, and so do we. With your support today, we’ll continue living up to them.
Sincerely,
[Maria Smith]
President and CEO
Overlooking the letter’s lack of finesse and blurry photocopied signature, I renewed my support, not because I was persuaded by the correspondence. Just the opposite, in fact—the letter was a big turn off to me. I renewed because I believe in the power of independent public media to enhance community dialogue, foster healthy democratic discourse, and share diverse stories that deserve to be voiced.
Here’s the letter that I wish I’d received. Because giving to an organization that communicates with me as an important partner would have made me feel part of something bigger, contributing to a public good greater than all of us:
Dear Anne:
We’re so grateful for your loyal support of our region’s public radio. We appreciate your faith in us as a trusted, independent source of news, and provider of free educational and cultural content that benefits our community.
As a member of our organization and regular consumer of our broadcasts, we know you’re aware that this summer Congress voted to rescind over $1 billion in previously approved appropriations to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. This funding ended on September 30, 2025 and our share of the allocation was approximately $1 million. We’ve done our best to tighten our belts and cut anything extraneous from our budget without sacrificing the quality programming that you’ve come to expect from us.
With the recent merger of our regional public radio and television stations, we remain steadfast in serving the needs of our growing community—keeping you abreast of the stories that impact the world around us, locally, nationally, and internationally. Like you, we believe that a well-informed and engaged citizenry is an imperative for the 21st century.
We truly need your help, now more than ever before, to continue delivering the kind of public-interest content that you have come to rely on us to provide—current events and news analysis, investigative reporting, documentaries, science and history programs, children’s educational shows, cultural and lifestyle programming that speaks to the human experience, plus emergency alert services that aid our region.
Last year, you were able to donate [$XXX] towards our efforts. Please renew your support online at [www.xyzpublicmedia.org] and consider an increased gift of [$XXX] this year-end to help us continue the content-rich programming you expect from us.
Thank you, from all of us.
Sincerely,
[Maria Smith]
President and CEO
Which letter would you have preferred to receive?
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Image credits: Courtesy of FreePik