Today I was very surprised to find in my inbox a message from Al Franken titled “The most important email I’ll send you this week…” I haven’t seen an email from his campaign since I signed up months ago, so I was curious. What I found was a highly engaging appear that was actually interesting. Here is the first bit:

It’s the end of the fundraising quarter, and political analysts are watching closely to see how much money candidates can raise by March 31st. That’s why people like me are going to be flooding your inbox this week with a plea for those last few dollars that could push them over their quarterly goal.

Great system we have here, huh?

The message goes on to explain why he was asking for money. It is explained in very simple terms how they will spend the money. I think this email is great. Since the first fundraising reporting deadline is the end of this month, I have received tons of emails asking for money. This is the only one I remembered. Why? Because Al Franken spoke to me like a human and not some fundraising machine. The tone was light, he explained how he would spend the money, and he treated me with respect. The email didn’t drown on and on, but was a highly interesting read. Do you think most politicians would include this quote?

And, I promise, I won’t ask you for money again. (For at least a couple days.)

The reason I write about this is that it can also serve as a powerful tool for non-profits. They have their own deadlines (year end giving), and this is a reminder that in order to stand out in the crowd, you need to be engaging, interesting and make a compelling argument about why your supporters should give you their money.