Scott’s gift for 2010: As we look toward the future

This blog was originally posted on March 11, 2015 as a reflection on the 2014 year-end season. As 2015 season is ramping up, we thought it would be a good time to take a look at what we learned from last year.

It's now been a few months since the December deluge of nonprofit fundraising appeals, and it's around this time that I like to take a moment to take a big-picture look at what we were seeing this past year-end season. What stories were nonprofits telling? What language were they using? What clever new tactics were they trying?

The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is the premier institution for advanced Jewish learning in North America. We have been helping JTS bring aspects of their vision for the future to life during an exciting period of change and growth.

There are a lot of ways to write well. When you’re going for “beautiful but confusing,” think James Joyce. When you’re going for “clear and motivating”—as most of us are when writing copy for communications materials—Ulysses probably shouldn’t be your inspiration. So what does good copy look like?