{"id":"ind-np-lapsed-donor-email","audience":"nonprofit","category":"writing-emails","technique":"tone","title":"Invite a lapsed donor back without guilt","free":false,"task":"A donor who gave in 2024 hasn't given since. Write an email under 90 words, plain text: open with what their last gift actually did, make one specific ask of $50 with the link, and use no guilt (no \"we miss you\", \"we noticed you haven't given\", or urgency). Use only the impact numbers in your notes. Write a prompt that gets you exactly that.","materialLabel":"The donor record and your notes (attached to your prompt automatically)","material":"DONOR RECORD - Tidewater Youth Rowing (fictional nonprofit)\nDonor: Grace Whitfield\nGifts: $250 on Dec 3, 2023; $250 on Dec 1, 2024; nothing in 2025 or 2026 so far.\nGift designation (2024): \"boat repair fund\"\nCommunication preference: email\n\nWhat the 2024 boat repair fund did (from our program director):\n- Repaired 2 eight-person boats that were out of service.\n- Those boats let 16 more students row each week in spring 2025.\n- Total fund raised: $6,400 from 21 donors.\n\nWinter indoor training program (starts Jan):\n- One month of rowing machine time for one student costs $50.\n- 30 students signed up so far.\n- Give link: tidewaterrowing.example/give\n\nNotes:\n- Her granddaughter rowed with us 2019-2022.\n- Year-end appeal goes out Dec 1.","rules":[{"type":"maxWords","max":90},{"type":"plainText"}],"mistakes":[{"title":"Trusting the AI to count words","why":"AI is bad at counting. Ask for \"under 90 words\" and it often lands well over.","fix":"Cap each part instead: \"4 sentences, each under 20 words.\"","checks":["maxWords"]},{"title":"Opening with the ask","why":"The AI leads with the request, or with \"It's been a while!\"","fix":"Add: \"Open with what her 2024 gift did: 2 boats repaired, 16 more students rowing.\"","checks":["r0"]},{"title":"Making a vague ask","why":"\"Please consider a gift\" gives her nothing concrete to say yes to.","fix":"Add: \"Ask for $50 for the winter indoor program, and say what $50 does.\"","checks":["r1"]},{"title":"Adding guilt","why":"The AI defaults to \"We've missed you!\" and \"we noticed you haven't given\".","fix":"Add: \"No guilt or urgency lines.\"","checks":["r2"]},{"title":"Ignoring where it will be pasted","why":"AI loves bold and headings, which show up as stray ** and # symbols in the email.","fix":"Name the place and the format: \"For the email. Plain text, no bold or headings.\"","checks":["plainText"]}],"promptHints":[{"label":"Opens with her impact","patterns":["open with","first sentence","what (her|their) (last )?gift did","impact"]},{"label":"Makes a specific ask","patterns":["\\$50","specific ask","one ask"]},{"label":"Bans guilt","patterns":["guilt","miss you","haven'?t given","urgen"]},{"label":"Includes the link","patterns":["link","give"]},{"label":"Sets a word limit","patterns":["\\d+\\s*words","word (limit|count)"]}],"hint":"Lapsed donors respond to results, not reminders. Tell the AI to open with what their gift did, make one clear ask, and drop the guilt.","rubricLabels":["The first sentence (after any 'Hi Grace,' greeting) says what her 2024 gift did: helped repair 2 boats that let 16 more students row each week","Makes one specific ask: $50 toward the winter indoor training program (one month of rowing machine time for a student), with the link tidewaterrowing.example/give","Contains no guilt or urgency lines (no 'we miss you', 'we noticed you haven't given', 'it's been a while', 'act now', 'before it's too late')"]}