Why your newsletter matters

There's a good article over at About Nonprofit Charitable Orgs by Terry Axelrod: The Art of Recognizing and Thanking Your Donors. Here's the nub:

Most donors don't need plaques or trinkets, which often cause donors to question your spending priorities.

Donors want to see what their gifts allowed you to accomplish -- specific facts and stories of how they changed the lives of real people. This is how they will know their money was put to the best use in your programs and services.

I wouldn't completely discount plaques and trinkets, because if you do it right (not an easy if), they can really cement donor relationships. But the more important point is this: The most important kind of donor recognition is to tell the donor what her giving accomplished.

And the single most effective way I know of to do that is to publish a donor-centric newsletter.

Donor-centric means it's not a newsletter where you brag about your accomplishments. It's about your donors: Their accomplishments, their impact, their interests. Somewhere between two and twelve times a year, send your donors a newsletter that does these things:

• Thank and acknowledge the donor constantly. Nearly every article should specifically address the donor the remind her that her giving is what makes it all possible.
  
• Be interesting. Tell human stories, and tell them in the most exciting way possible. (Study the National Enquirer for headline and copywriting tips!)
  
• Go easy on the statistics. Always put them in the context of human interest.
  
• Don't forget to ask. Your donors give not only to make a difference, but because giving feels good. Don't deny them the opportunity to give again.
  
• Give readers avenues of involvement beyond giving, like volunteering, making gifts-in-kind, advocating on your behalf, visiting your work, and more.
  

Technorati Tags: fundraising, newsletters

Comments

[Holly Tedford]

I've written a ton of newsletters over the years and always strive to make them donor-centric. Often I've had to completely change the focus of existing newsletters to accomplish this, but it's always been a fruitful change. I totally agree with all of your points, and would just add one thing. Choose engaging pictures for your newsletter with all the same considerations in mind, and use the captions to tell additional brief stories that you might not have room for in the rest of the articles.

[Jeff Brooks]

Good point about photos. They're super important. It's so important that they be real -- not stock photography. It's much better to have a real photo of the person you're writing about -- even if it's not technically great -- than really beautiful stock. People can spot those a mile away! You might as well put a big sticker on your newsletter that says, "THIS IS NOT REAL."

[steve cunningham]

I have been reading your blog for a few weeks now with interest. Your comment about donor recognition strikes a chord. Indeed, the most impactful way to connect with donors is to tell them what their giving accomplished. I also agree that the physical manifestations of donor recognition - if done right - can cement donor relationships.

As part of a firm that designs donor recognition displays, I would take your argument one step further. The only way that physical donor recognition gets it right is if it is approached with the same rigorous thinking that you have applied to newsletters.

Newsletters and plaques are merely communication tools for the message - and every communication a non-profit produces should be held to the same standard.

If there is a future for donor recognition displays, it is in their ability to create an experience. An experience that expresses gratitude to donors, tells human stories (every non-profit has stories that can move people to tears), let’s people know how to give (beyond money) and most importantly, asks for their help.

[Jeff Schreifels]

One thing all good direct marketers should consider when creating a donor-centered newsletter is to TEST its impact on the donor file. I see many non-profits either NOT producing a good newsletter or producing way too many. In fact, I've got a client who produces 10-12 newsletter a year. Only until we've done extensive testing did we find it was sucking the life and NET revenue out of the file. Yes, a good donor-centered newsletter can be a vehicle to talk about what the donor's gifts have done to make a difference, but if we are not careful we can unintentionally be bombarding our donors and pissing them off and losing the impact we were trying to create.