A call to action is not just a glorified closing to an email or letter; they are actually vitally important to the efficacy of your fundraising efforts.

No matter how compelling a story or appeal is, however, donors still need you to tell them what you want from them. It’s not enough to just make a case for giving in appeals; you must go that final step by providing a call to action or asking your donor to do something.

How to Write Compelling Calls to Action

Calls to action are words and phrases that do exactly what they say — ask the reader to perform an action. Here are a few pointers about how to write a call to action that converts:

• Keep it short. Use as few words as possible for a call to action.
• Use strong action verbs such as “join the fight,” “buy school supplies for a child” that convey emotion and tell your story of how the donation will be used.
• Create a sense of urgency with words such as “now” and “today.”
• Evaluate your calls to action with this simple “test”: do you want to do it? (For example, I don’t want to submit a form, but I want to “change a child’s life today.”)

What Calls to Action to Use When

Depending upon the type of appeal you’re sending, you’ll tailor your call to action accordingly. For example, in an urgent fundraising letter, you should use a strong “donate today” call to action; but you’d want to use a lighter “stay connected”-type call to action on a landing page where new supporters from social media visit.

Provide calls to action on all fundraising appeals, including printed materials, emails, social media posts, landing pages, and throughout your website. As you consider what type of call to action to use where, simply ask, “What do I want the reader to do next?”  

Not all calls to action involve giving money, either, but you still need strong calls to action for things like volunteering, subscribing to your newsletter, or even sharing a video. You should still tie those “non-donation” calls to action to their inevitable outcomes; for example, instead of saying, “Subscribe,” you could say, “Learn more about how to get clean water to African villages.”

Some Suggested Calls to Action Verbs

Sometimes it can be hard to come up with new ways to word a call to action. Here’s a list of action verbs that may help you craft more effective calls to action.

• Give
• Donate
• Fund
• Buy
• Pay
• Fight
• Change
• Save
• Help
• Act
• Explore
• Intervene
• React
• Transform
• Learn
• Teach

Take some time to sort through your existing appeals — both online and in print — and evaluate your calls to action. A few simple tweaks to the wording may make a big difference in your campaign results, website traffic, and online supporter engagement.

What are some of the most effective calls to action your organization has used with success?