By Alan Sharpe, CFRE
Back in the 1990s, I worked for a non-profit organization that mailed a multi-page, full-colour newsletter to around 14,000 people each month, at a cost of around $0.50 a piece. The majority of people who received the newsletter had never given a donation to the organization. Yet the organization had been mailing thousands of these people month in and month out, for years.
The executive director finally decided to save some money by asking these newsletter recipients if they wanted to continue receiving the newsletter. He told them in a letter that their free newsletter “subscription” would expire if he did not hear from them. He didn’t hear from them.
Of the 14,000 newsletter recipients who received this letter, only around 2,500 said they wanted to continue receiving the newsletter. In other words, 82% didn’t want to receive it. Which means the non-profit organization immediately started saving $5,750 a month, or $69,000 a year, by refusing to print and mail a donor newsletter to people who didn’t want to read it.
You can save this kind of money by making your newsletter the kind that donors want to read. Here are the four things that today’s donors demand in a donor newsletter.
1. Accomplishments
“What did you do with my money?” That’s the question donors are asking themselves when they read your newsletter. Donors want proof, in words and pictures, that their donations are making a difference. They want to see that your organization is using their donations the way donors want them used. So make sure your newsletter highlights accomplishments.
2. Vision
“What could you do with my money?” This is the question donors are asking as they contemplate giving again. Why should they renew their support? You need to give some compelling reasons. Not in the form of a vision statement or mission statement, but in the form of exciting, relevant initiatives that you want to undertake with the donor’s help.
3. Recognition
“Did my support matter?” Your donors pick up your donor newsletter to read about themselves. They want to see that they matter, that they are important, to your organization. They want you to recognize them and the contribution they make to the people you serve. So be sure to recognize your donors. Show that you value them. Answer the question donors are asking, “Did my support matter?”
4. Efficiency
“Can I trust you with my money?” This is one question donors are asking more often these days. Just this week (November, 2007) the head of the Red Cross in the United States was forced to resign because of a moral lapse he had at work involving a female colleague. Your donors want to know that your organization is trustworthy and financially responsible. Your donor newsletter is the best place to build that trust over time.
You might be interested in…
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Seminar-on-Demand 002 How to Publish the Perfect Donor Newsletter. Presenter: Tom Ahern. The secret to keeping donors and raising money with your donor newsletter is to publish a newsletter that donors want to read. Tom Ahern, the author of The Mercifully Brief, Real World Guide to Raising More Money With Newsletters Than You Ever Thought Possible, explains how to do both in “How to Publish the Perfect Donor Newsletter.” It’s available as an electronic transcript and downloadable sound file that plays on Windows Media Player and iTunes. Discover the unsuspected flaws that kill most donor newsletters before they’re even mailed.
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 Breakthrough Fundraising Letters. How to write direct mail donation request appeals that attract more donors, raise more money, and build stronger relationships. Available in paperback and as an e-book. |
