Wonder Before Words: The Discipline That Fuels Better Fundraising Copy

You could call them creative.

You could call then empathetic.

You could even call them interested.

But the best copywriters I know… the ones whose words actually drive a response… are relentlessly, annoyingly, and unreasonably curious.

Before they write a single word, they’re already deep into questions.

Not just, “What do we want to say?” but, “What are we not seeing?”

I’m talking about the kind of questions that make people pause and say, “Huh. No one’s ever asked me that before.”

Curiosity isn’t just part of the job. It is the job.

Because great fundraising copy doesn’t start with writing. It starts with wondering.

Curiosity helps you get to the 2%

There’s a saying in my church that’s stuck with me: “Share the 2%.”

This means in any conversation, you should always say the thing you’d only say to your spouse on the drive home from the party—the honest, emotionally risky comment you filtered out earlier.

The 2% is the thing that needs to be said, but almost never is. Because the 2% is where the whole truth lives.

Curiosity is how you get there. It pushes you past the safe, expected narrative into the detail that actually matters.

The quote that actually moves. The insight that actually cuts through.

If you’re not curious, you’ll never get to the 2%. And if you don’t get to the 2%, your copy won’t be as good as it could be—and it won’t get the response you need it to.

Why curiosity wins

Curiosity fuels the kind of insight that data alone can’t deliver.

It helps you get beyond surface-level talking points and into the messy, emotional, honest territory where the best copy lives.

Curiosity is what keeps your stories from sounding like everyone else’s.

It’s how you spot the offhand comment that becomes the perfect headline.

It’s how you stop writing at donors—and start writing with them in mind.

So how do you stay curious?

Here are three practices I keep coming back to:

1. Don’t stop with the first answer.

When you ask someone why their work matters and they say, “Because we’re changing lives,” that’s not the answer. It’s the opener.

So dig deeper and follow up with something like, “What does that change actually look like? Who felt it? What did they say about it? Can I talk to them about it?”

Real insight lives beyond the answer to your first question.

2. Look where others don’t.

Everyone wants the big story—the miracle, the viral quote, the headline gift. But curiosity thrives in overlooked places:

• A one-line thank-you note from someone your organization helped

• A comment on a low-performing Facebook ad

• A weird spike in giving from the 75080 zip code

Curious copywriters zoom in on what others scroll past.

3. Pretend you know nothing.

This one’s humbling, especially if you’ve been around a while.

But some of my best copy has come from setting aside what I think I know and asking questions like…

How does the program actually work?

Why should the donor give to this?

Why should they give now?

One question I often ask when I’m interviewing someone is:

How would you describe [insert program or org] to someone who knew nothing about it? (That “someone” usually being me.)

That one question can surface everything from awkward phrasing to brilliant metaphors to a story I never would have found another way.

Curiosity demands humility, and humility opens the door to better writing.

Why curiosity is worth cultivating

Curiosity isn’t just a nice-to-have. It’s a discipline.

It keeps your writing fresh, your mind flexible, and your assumptions in check.

Here are four reasons it’s worth cultivating:

🧠 Your brain grows stronger.

Curiosity puts your brain in a high-learning state. The hippocampus (which governs memory) and the brain’s reward center light up. You retain more and you notice more.

Even more important for writers: Curiosity lights up the brain’s default mode network—the system that powers imagination, empathy, and deep reflection.

That means curious writers aren’t just better thinkers. They’re better feelers, and are more in tune with how others see the world.

🔄 Your mind stays flexible.

As we age, our brains tend to conserve energy by defaulting to routines, patterns, and mental shortcuts.

But the cost is reduced neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to adapt, learn, and grow.

Curiosity pushes back. It disrupts your habits. It keeps your assumptions in check. And it helps you write fresh copy instead of recycling old scripts.

🧍‍♂️Your ego gets smaller.

Curiosity requires humility. It forces you to say, “I don’t know yet.” It replaces certainty with openness, and arrogance with attention.

In a world where everyone’s broadcasting, curious writers are listening. This makes your copy more relational, more thoughtful, and more real.

📖 Your faith affirms it.

God doesn’t discourage questions. He actually uses them.

Throughout Scripture, the story of redemption often unfolds through questions:

• Moses: “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh?”

• David: “Who am I, Sovereign Lord, that you have brought me this far?”

• Mary: “How can this be, since I am a virgin?”

Even Jesus—God in the flesh—asked more than 300 questions in the Gospels, and directly answered fewer than 10. Why? Because questions invite reflection. They stir hearts. They turn truth into transformation.

As Proverbs 25:2 says, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.”

Your curiosity honors the God who made you to wonder, seek, and grow.

What curious copywriters always do

They ask.

They dig deeper.

They listen longer.

They get to the 2%.

They let wonder lead the way.

Because at the end of the day, curiosity isn’t a style. It’s a posture.

And when you build your copy on that posture, people feel it—and more likely to respond to it.