Newsletter fails make me sad.
The tagline said “thanking those who make a difference”, but I don’t think that’s me.
Why?
Because out of maybe 15 articles in the newsletter, 10 refer to large individual or foundation gifts.
Like, millions large.
And while the stated purpose of this newsletter is thanks, the headlines read like those on press releases. I’m never addressed directly (no “you” here at all).
And while there’s a gift envelope stapled into the fold, there’s no real ask.
There are many mentions of large institutional and private donors. There are pictures of beautiful people at a fancy fundraising event. And those people and institutions might absolutely love the press and kudos.
But why bother sending this to me?
If you’re going to do a donor newsletter and make most of your donors a second thought then I have some advice for you:
Don’t bother.
Save your printing and postage costs. Spend the time and money on a lovely, intimate, hand-notated impact report for your largest donors. Call them each personally. Send out press releases so the institutional donors have something to show for their involvement.
Because if this sounds like your donor newsletter, you’re missing the whole point. You’re not matching the publication to the audience.
Most of your donors don’t need an 8-page newsletter. They don’t need something expensively printed. But they do need to know they matter.
Not in aggregate. Not as one of many. As individuals.
Did my gift matter?
If you want donors to feel like their gifts have meaning, you have to say so.
One average-sized gift is not going to cure cancer or eliminate hunger by itself. But the donor who makes that average gift needs to feel more than average.
She needs to feel her average gift is part of something much better than average. And that without her, big things might not happen. Or at least, might not happen as quickly.
Don’t make the mistake of writing about what you want to write about. Write about what your donors want to read about.
That starts with “did my gift matter?”
If eight-figure gifts are all that’s mentioned, the donor will perceive your answer is “no, not really.”
Then she may find an organization that does value her gift.
So absolutely include an inspirational story of a million-dollar donation. Especially if it was a bequest made by a “regular” person.
But include stories for everyone, too. Human-sized stories for every donor.
Your fundraising will be more successful if you focus less on dollar signs and more on donor impact.
If your headlines are all about the money, you’re excluding people.
All donors matter
If you don’t truly believe that, you may be in the wrong line of work.
Newsletters should go to all your donors. They aren’t intended to serve as one on one communications with your largest donors. So why pitch your newsletter to only those donors with lots of zeros in their gift?
Donors tend to be very tolerant people. Honest to goodness, they put up with a lot of bad treatment from nonprofit organizations.
But it wouldn’t be smart to depend on that. It’s definitely a bad retention strategy.
So use your newsletter to reach every donor, regardless of their gift size. Make every single donor feel wonderful about giving. Confirm that they’ve made a fantastic choice when they gave.
Share all your good news, and credit them. Share some less-than-good news, too – and show them how they could help.
But please, stop ignoring most of your donors.
Because if you’re chasing those million-dollar donors with a newsletter, you’re doing it wrong. And if you think the rest of your donors don’t notice they’re being ignored, you’re missing there, too.
Newsletters are a fantastic way to communicate with your donors. Use them well.
Photo by Adam Solomon on Unsplash
Mary:
When my wife earned her Ed.D. she commited that with her new raise in salary that she would contribute to ten new organizations. I asked that she allow me to see the written responses that she received. Some were universities, some were conservation causes, and some were children’s hospitals. One was a foundation based in her home state and bears the name of a famous country music singer that she admires.
Of the ten organizations, we never received anything from three of them. Nothing. No phone calls. No letters of thanks. No receipt (even though they each received more than the IRS $250 threshold). Disappointing.
Five organizations sent an auto-signed standard thank you response and receipt.
Two organizations sent a personalized thank you letter, personally sign with some additional thank you comments, a receipt, and news on the organization.
Nine of the ten organizations included her new donation and contact information into their database. We now get varying appeals throughout the year from nine new organizations. Some we continue to contribute to, and other were a one time gift.
The last one is the country music singer’s foundation to which my wife wrote a $1,000 check. Yes, we received a thank you letter, a personal signature, and personalized comments, but she has not been approached for a renewed gift. Somehow, she as a $1,000 donor fell off their radar.
It’s been several years now since she earned her Doctorate, and it continues to puzzle her. Her comment? “You would you think that a $1,000 gift would warrant at least a second request for a contribution…” Then she concludes with shaking her head and saying “All they would have to do is ask, but I am not giving until they ask me. The first gift was ‘on me’, but the second gift responsibility is ‘on them’.” And this comes from a person who understands the value and challenges of non-profit organizations.
Such a sad and frustrating story. And we do it to donors all the time! It’s not hard to get it right, either. Thank you so much for sharing that. I hope people take it to heart. We can do better!
Mary:
Yes, it’s sad and true all at the same time. Yet I am encouraged that we can all do better with training, communicating, and then enacting change. Clients who “get it” are seeing improvements over time. I appreciate that you are spreading the word and have the leadership courage to do so. Many thanks!
That’s very kind of you, thank you.
Yes, all we can do is keep fighting the good fight!
When I worked for a large nonprofit in Canada, we segmented our newsletters so average donors received one version while major gifts donors received another. It worked.
Yes, of course. The closer any communications aligns with the recipient, the better. So that makes perfect sense if you have the scale. Though I also love simply adding personal notes to each major donor.
But I think the ones I see (too often) could be off-putting even there. A good donor newsletter shouldn’t be about money. It should be about donors – and how they’re making mission happen. How amazing they are.
Too often, these things are PR pieces and all about the organization. Like a series of press releases. Snore.
Amen. Really key insight when you say a donor newsletter shouldn’t be about money. In the list of what excites donors, dollar amounts will take a distant back seat to things like mission, impact, appreciation, inclusion in something bigger than themselves and how giving makes them feel.
I see this kind of mistake all the time, and not just in donor communications. It comes down to knowing your audience and communicating to and with them, instead of at them — which you’d hope would be obvious but is still far from a universal practice.
Thanks so much for this piece.
Thank you, Rob. I so appreciate you taking the time to comment. And it’s always so heartening when someone really gets it!
Great advice. Some of it comes down to fairly subtle word changes in Newsletter articles. Other ways to address this is to make sure there are articles acknowledging new donors, dedicated consistent donors, and regular givers. And continually speaking about the combined support of many donors and how it is helping people. I also adopt a personal approach with thank you letters, writing brief but personal handwritten notes to selected donors. There isn’t enough time to do that for every donor every time, but doing it on a regular basis adds up over time.
Another strategy is to give brand new givers a really great welcome. Send them a personal note thanking them for their decision to support, include the latest Newsletter, invite them to an event if one is coming up, or better still, give them a call! Using your database to record as much searchable information as possible means you can implement these strategies easily and have the ability to follow up appropriately..