Ahern Communications, Ink.: Content / / Come and get it

Advice

Click: Becoming the "designated idiot" (it's a good thing, you'll see).
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Click: Read before you buy: sample chapters, from How to Write Fundraising Materials That Raise More Money.
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Click: Read before you buy: sample chapters, from Raising More Money from Newsletters Than You Ever Thought Possible.
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Click: Back issues of our "just trying to be helpful" e-news.

Case studies

Click: Case study of a successful direct mail "friend-raising" campaign to acquire philanthropic millionaires.
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Click: A tough nut to crack: This appeal letter successfully converted one-time memorial givers into repeat donors.

Information

Click: Favorite, useful, wonderful how-to books (how we got so breathtakingly smart).
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Click: Links, my own highly idiosyncratic collection of same, lovingly assembled.

Research

Click: Research from the UK on how to market bequests.
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Click: Colin Wheildon's readability research (what most graphic designers fail to understand).

Samples

Click: For starters: sample openings for appeal letters, to help prime your pump.
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Click: Downloadable PDFs of actual case statements (by the way, the campaigns all made goal).

Why

In his 1936 self-help book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie leaned on insights from people like philosopher John Dewey and Dr. Sigmund Freud to start "millions of men and women on the road to success and happiness," as the back cover of my copy says. I'm one of them.

I don't recall where I first encountered Dale Carnegie's quote, the one at the top of this page. "You'll have more fun and success...." I haven't found it yet in his book. But his advice changed my life.

I stopped worrying so much about whether I'd make a living and focused instead on training myself to achieve consistent, good results for nonprofit clients. What began uncertainly with local charities and tiny projects has become, with time, an international career.

I've had countless helping hands along the way. But I have Dale Carnegie's words to thank for pointing me in the right direction at the start.

Which is why a good chunk of this website is free information I hope you'll find somehow useful in your work. Call it enlightened self-interest: helping you get what you want means more fun and success for me.