As you double- and triple-check your lists for your upcoming appeal mailing, I give you permission to take one thing off your list.

Don’t bother with titles/prefixes (Mr., Dr., Ms., etc.)

Donor prefixes are an outdated practice that hinders effective fundraising. Time to ditch them.

Quick note: If you have a donor who has specifically requested that you address them as Mr. John Smith or Ms. Jane Doe, please do so. Donor preference trumps your preference. And even my preference.

Reason #1 – There is NO room for uncertainty

If you address your letter to Mr./Mrs/Ms./Miss so-and-so, you have to know the donor really well. Otherwise, you risk making a mistake that will send your carefully crafted letter straight to the trash. Why? Because that mistake is a huge flashing sign that you don’t know the person you’re asking for a gift.

And there are so many traps that can get you, like:

1. Gender neutral names - This one is personal. As a woman with a man’s name, I get so sick of people getting my name/gender wrong (I even wrote about it for Business Insider).
2. International names - If you don’t know whether Consuelo, Enda, or Li Wei is a male or a female name, you leave yourself open to a lot of risk by including a gendered title. Guessing the wrong title could come off as culturally insensitive (yikes!). Since 70% of people prefer brands aligned with their values, that impression could cost you valuable donation revenue.
3. Need for specialized titles - Even if you have no questions about the donor’s gender, you might not know that they have—and prefer—a specialized title like Dr.
4. Marital status - Do you really want to be the person who addresses a donor as Mrs. So-and-so only to find out she got divorced last year? Me neither.

Reason #2- It’s not inclusive

Using gendered titles for non-binary or transgender people is hurtful. It can also give the impression that your organization is not inclusive (see stat with international names).

The moral of the story for reasons one and two: honor your donors by respecting their preferences. If you don’t know their preferences, don’t make assumptions.

Reason #3- It creates distance between you and the donor

Adding titles creates distance between us and our donors. In our increasingly informal world, these formalities can seem outdated and unnecessary. Instead of fostering a sense of partnership and shared purpose, they can create hierarchies and barriers that hinder collaboration.

When we approach donors on a personal level, without the formality of titles, we strengthen our connection with them. Authenticity resonates better with today’s donors. They often prefer recognition for their impact, not their titles. We can better serve our donors and mission by eliminating these artificial boundaries.

Connect like humans. Drop the titles.

Dropping titles helps you build stronger relationships, enhance donor engagement, and raise more money. So ditch the titles, fulfill your mission, and make the world a better place.

Interesting Nonprofit Link

I know you’re doing great work. But in an environment where distrust in nonprofits is high, you might need to prove it. Check out these tips on calculating and communicating your organization’s Social Return on Investment. Because if you can back up your impact with dollars and cents, it’s a lot harder to say your work doesn’t matter.

Nonprofit Good News

Anyone else feeling weighed down right now? It’s not easy to work in a sector that looks after others and see so many suffering needlessly. But, true to form, nonprofits are stepping up, and there are tons of stories—like this one, this one, and this one—of them providing food to people who lost their SNAP benefits.

See you next month!

Lee O'Connell, nonprofit content and copywriter
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​leeoconnell.com​
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