NSPCC - A harrowing Christmas donor mailing

Donors give to people, not organisations. This is something I’ve learned over thirty years of working with the NSPCC. For a recent Christmas mailing to donors, ‘Craig’ – an adult survivor of child abuse – was prepared to make his harrowing story public. To ensure the authenticity of the story, I wrote two letters: the ‘formal’ one from the Director of ChildLine Services, starting with a quote from ‘Craig’…“Christmas morning…I was told I didn’t have any presents because I didn’t deserve any…” and then explaining why NSPCC needs the money. The second letter was based very much on ‘Craig’s’ actual experiences, not printed on letterhead but on anonymous paper. “This is a very difficult letter to write. It’s about the abuse I suffered as a child…” and concluding with why, today, he is one the NSPCC’s most ardent supporters. Sometimes, the job of the copywriter is simply acting as channel for one person to speak directly to another – and direct mail, personally addressed, can do this job like no other medium can.