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NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND PENNY LETTER
One of the oldest direct mail fund-raising devices is to tear a dollar bill in half and send one half
to a potential contributor with a letter that says: "We've sent you half of a dollar. We have the other
half. But we can't put it to work unless you send your half back to us. And, while you're doing
that, how about putting another dollar of your own in with it?"
It's a technique that in one form or another, has worked well over the years. Who's greedy enough
to keep a piece of paper they can't use and, by not returning it, keep a needy charity from having
a dollar they need? And very few who return the "half dollar" fail to add at least another dollar
in the envelope.
What's at work is a guilt process. All of us have been trained from childhood not to throw away
government currency. It's valuable. But what are you doing to do with a torn dollar bill? The easiest
way to escape your "guilt trip" is to send it back to the one who sent it to you.
One of today's modern versions of the old torn dollar bill technique is an effective "penny" letter
from National Federation of the Blind. Attached is a shiny new penny. The copy begins:
Lisa wants you to have this shiny penny.
The penny tells the story of each blind child's hope ... the story of every
blind person's search for the understanding which leads to freedom.
On page 2 of the letter, it explains:
Please hold the penny in your hand.
Remember, it's not what the penny is worth which gives us blind people a
break. A couple dozen pennies, a few nickels and dimes in a blind man's cup
hardly buy a loaf of bread anymore.
What's important to us blind people is the penny's one word message: LIBERTY!
I'm sure you'll agree LIBERTY means FREEDOM and EQUALITY for all
Americans, sighted and blind alike.
What we blind citizens want is LIBERTY! What we want is FREEDOM! Freedom
from dependency and welfare programs. We don't want handouts . . .
pennies thrown in a tin cup with pity. We want the chance to pay our own
way ... do an honest day's work for an honest living.
A postscript on the letter reinforces the penny idea:
P.S. I sincerely hope you'll keep the penny Lisa sent you as a symbol of your
commitment to help us blind people in America find FREEDOM and EQUAL-
ITY. Blind children especially need the opportunities your gift provides. Please
send it as soon as possible!
Although the Federation doesn't ask you to return the penny, the recipient is still faced with the
problem of what to do with it. He can't just throw it away. So it has to be removed from the letter,
with the letter's message coming once more to mind.
www.greatestsalesletters.com - 281 -