Red Canary Magazine’s Fundraising Letter
Task: The Red Canary Magazine needed to develop a fundraising template for both email and regular mail requesting donations to support their initiatives for combatting climate change and human rights abuses.
Process: Develop concepts and provide research-backed statements combined with heartfelt messaging.
Target audience: Ongoing donors and the general public.
Results: High open rate via email and ongoing donations secured.
A Note From the Nest | June 2021
Dear << First Name >>,
There’s an old Native American prayer, recited by the Ojibwe people, whose wisdom resonates with us today more than ever before. It goes like this:
“Grandfather, look at our brokenness. We know that in all creation only the human family has strayed from the Sacred Way. We know that we are the ones who are divided, and we are the ones who must come back together to walk in the Sacred Way. Grandfather, Sacred One, teach us love, compassion, and honor that we may heal the earth and heal each other.”
Returning to the path of the Sacred Way is the only way forward, for we are currently in the midst of the sixth mass extinction.* The facts don’t lie:
Humans have caused a 1.2°C rise in global warming since the pre-industrial era. (NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS))
150 species die out every day. (National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) study published in 2020)*
Over half a million people in the United States are homeless. (HUD 2020 Annual Homeless Assessment Report)
Indigenous women in the US face murder rates 10 times higher than the national average. (Indian Law Resource Center)
In the last two decades, the rate of sea-level rise per year has more than doubled. (NOAA Climate.Gov)
Political upheaval has swamped the streets of American cities with demonstrations. (The Global Times)
Migrant children are still being held in ICE detention camps. (The New York Times)
The list could go on. But what’s clear is that Planet Earth is in danger. As her stewards, it is our duty to build a sustainable and equitable future for all living beings. Our survival depends on it.
That’s why at Red Canary Collective—an independent social change agency—we’ve made it our mission to empower environmental and social justice groups by amplifying their message to the world. With a team of acclaimed business leaders, strategists, filmmakers, photographers, and journalists, we create digital content documenting the best of humanity’s thoughts and actions to bring about real positive change.
It is therefore vital that we maintain our magazine's editorial independence. For us to truly speak truth to power about environmental and social justice concerns, we need a safe space where no one sets our agenda, and no one tells our editors what to publish.
For the past six months, our agency has been focused on launching our magazine and negotiating our initial partnerships. Coffee With A Black Guy (#CWABG), Ágape Misión Mundial, and Biocitizen-LA are among the organizations with whom we’ve recently started working. We’ve also continued to form connections with indigenous tribes, to help support their work as stewards of the earth while reporting on the violence being committed against indigenous women and against the land.
By telling their story without having to compromise with any special interest groups or sponsors, we enable vital movements like these to make their voices heard, and their truths felt. The world should know about those striving for sustainable solutions to today’s problems. It’s inspiring to see that measures are being taken to build a brighter future for the generations to come.
Your support allows us to make that happen. Today’s challenges are unprecedented, and they require an unprecedented collective effort. Every contribution, no matter how small, is a big help. For as little as $5 a month, your tax-deductible donations pave the way for environmental and social justice projects to flourish and receive the attention they deserve.
Thank you,
Co-Founders, Red Canary Collective
