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You’ll be encouraged to know that the art of writing effective fundraising letters can be learned. I learned it. So can you.

Successful fundraising letters share a number of things in common. Once you know what

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

these things are, your letter is already half-way written. Before I share what they are, let me explain what I mean by a “successful” or “effective” fundraising letter. I mean a letter that generates a gift, cert

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ainly, but I also mean a letter that builds upon the relationship you have with your supporters. You can easily craft a guilt-inducing letter that brings in a donation for now but repels a donor forever. Successf

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

ul fundraising letters take the long-term approach, knowing that donors need to be nurtured and educated over time.

So here are some things that all successful fundraising letters have in common. Include as many

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

of them as you can in each letter you write.

1. Is personal
Effective fundraising letters sound as though they are written by a human being, not an institution. Unlike grant proposals or s

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

pecial events, they are person-to-person pieces of communication. With the exception of a phone call, fundraising letters are the closest thing that you can get to a face-to-face meeting with a donor.

2.

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

Is conversational
Again, unlike grant proposals and charity auctions, effective fundraising letters read like a conversation (though admittedly a monologue) between two people. Wouldn’t you agree t

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

hat good letters involve the reader? Like you, I believe that effective letters involve the supporter in the message whenever possible without sounding contrived.

3. Is addressed to a person by name
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
ong>
Don’t send form letters to make friends. Friends don’t mail form letters. They send personal letters. Letters addressed to their friends by name. My wife never sends me a letter that begins, “Dear Frien
and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ
d.” Neither do my friends. I realize that personalization costs more. But personalization is the right thing to do. And it boost response, which is a bonus you get for doing the right thing.

4. Describes
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
the case for support in human terms
The best fundraising letters translate institutional needs in terms of people, not programs, remembering that people give to people to help people. So instead of
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a
saying “we need $10,000 for our general fund,” a savvy fundraising letter says “our soup kitchen aims to help over 100 needy toddlers this Christmas Eve, and your gift today will make that possible.”

5.
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
Is donor-centred
The best-received fundraising letters say “you” more than they say “we.” As Jeff Brooks, senior creative director at the Domain Group, says, “Donors are interested in you because o
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
f what you help them do. You are their agent in their personal mission to make the world better. That should be the topic of all your fundraising. Not the inner workings of the organization. Not the accomplishmen
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
ts of notable others. Not the need for raised consciousness or philosophical buy-in.”

6. Asks for the gift
I’ve read letters that were so high-pressure that I kept my donation in my pocket.
t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
And I’ve read others that were so vague that I wasn’t sure if the sender wanted my gift--or expected it. In the fundraising profession, we say that if you don’t ask, you won’t receive. Which is a true statement
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
most of the time, because sometimes you’ll receive gifts unsolicited. But with a fundraising letter, you need to ask for a donation, and more than once in the letter, if you expect to cover your costs.

7
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
. Educates donors
The best fundraising letters leave donors better-informed than they were before they opened the envelope. They give donors more reasons to support your cause by describing how your
.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
organization helps its constituents, how a donor’s past gifts are changing lives, or in other ways reinforcing your case for support.

8. Appeals to the heart
Donors give to causes that win
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip
their hearts and their minds, usually in that order. Good appeal letters stir feelings of compassion, mercy, empathy, altruism and more so that the donor identifies with your cause on more than a cerebral level.

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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