The One Question Your Donor Newsletter Must Answer

The One Question Your Donor Newsletter Must Answer

Yes, your supporters read your newsletter and the newspaper to discover what's new, what's going on, what's current. They read to be better informed, to understand the issues better.

But your donors have one question they want answered when they read your newsletter, and it's not a question they ask of any other media. Their question is this: "What have you done with my money?"

Answer this question well and you'll keep your supporters. Answer it poorly, or not at all, and you'll watch your donors fall away.

Don't be fooled into thinking your donor newsletter has to present news only. That's what newspapers do. That's what your communications department would do if it had its way. But your publication's primary purpose isn't news: it's stewardship. And you prove that stewardship through news.

Unlike newspapers and magazines, you have a moral obligation to your reader to show what you've done with her money. Your donors support your organization because they want to change the world. They've decided to do that through you rather than another charity.

Which means your supporters demand that you show them how their donations have made a difference. They don't want to read about your latest committee. They're not interested in Bob's promotion. Or that a group went to the local bowling alley and a good time was had by all.

"How did you use my donation?" That's what your supporters want to know. So show them. Tell them. Use vivid photos, stirring testimonials, gripping narratives and donor-centred stories to prove (as though you're the CEO reporting to your shareholders) that you have used your donor's gift to improve the world. Show proof.

What you need before you write any newsletter story is not a good hook or a great photo or a message from your executive director delivered before you go to press. What you need is evidence. Concrete evidence. Evidence that would persuade a jury of your peers in a court of law that you invested your donor's donation prudently and that it generated a return on investment in lives changed.

I recommend you draw a picture of a jail cell and tape it to your monitor. Stare at it before you write any story. Imagine a group of your donors ready to press charges unless you answer the one question they demand from you. Then start writing.

About the author

Alan Sharpe, CFRE, is a fundraising practitioner, author, trainer and speaker. Through his weekly newsletter, books, handbooks and workshops, Alan helps not-for-profit organizations worldwide to acquire more donors, raise more funds and build stronger relationships. Sign up for "Sharpe Tips," Alan's free, weekly, email newsletter, at www.raisersharpe.com.

2010 Alan Sharpe.

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