Does your donor newsletter inspire delight? Does it share stories of impact that your donor can feel good about?

Or is it packed full of boring statistics and program updates focussed on how great your organization is, rather than how great your donor is?

Here are some simple tips you can use right now to transform your navel-gazing newsletter into a delight-filled, donor-focussed one:

Tip #1: Call it something fun and donor-focussed.

Make sure your donors know this is a specially created newsletter just for them! Put a YOU in the title or at least make it fun and engaging.

You want this to become something they can look forward to reading each month, quarter, or however often you send it (hopefully more than once a year!).

Here’s an image of a recent newsletter I worked on, where I also helped come up with the title of the newsletter. (Shout out to the talented John Lepp at Agents of Good for the fun, creative design of the following newsletters and mastheads!)

Tip #2: Put a YOU in all of your headings.

This is a simple way to draw your reader into the story. Even a simple “Thank you! You helped…” You can see this put into practice in the previous example - and here’s another one:

Tip #3: Add a you-filled summary line.

When I write copy for newsletter appeals, my clients often send summary information or article copy already written by their communications folks.

My job is to make it more donor-focussed without changing the content too much.

One quick and easy way to do this is to include a summary line or sentence at the top and bottom of the article that clearly states that the donor helped make this story possible. You can see this in the previous two examples - and one coming up!

Tip #4: Report back on the content from past appeals.

Seems simple enough right? Your newsletter should ideally report back to donors on how you’ve used their last gift.

Did they respond to a direct mail appeal? What did you ask for? It’s important to update donors and show that you’ve used their money in the way you said you would. Or at least share that you’re working towards that goal.

In the example below, we shared photos and an update on a Thanksgiving lunch funded by donors. In the Fall direct mail appeal, we had specifically asked donors to make a gift to the lunch program. We also asked donors to write a message of thanks and gratitude on a place mat and send it back with their gift, so it made sense to share some photos of those!

Tip #5: Include a donor story.

I recommend you feature donor stories of those types of donors you’d like to attract more of, such as monthly donors or legacy donors.

This can help your donors to feel more connected to your organization and to other donors, as well as introduce them to different ways of giving.

Here are two examples - featuring a legacy donor and a monthly donor. Note that both provide personal contact information for someone in the organization — so that donors can easily reach out to learn more.

Tip #6: Include a staff or volunteer story.

The Ottawa Food Bank does this very well - often including an ‘interview style’ story from a volunteer or staff person in their newsletters.

This allows you to share other perspectives of the work you do and show that many people within your organization appreciate and are impacted by donor support.

Tip #7: Provide an opportunity for your donor to give again.

For many of my clients, their donor newsletters actually raise money! We usually include a bright and breezy cover letter loaded with gratitude and love and a summary of the articles included in the newsletter.

I usually include a soft ask. These packages typically include a reply form and return envelope too.

Here’s an example of the reply form and letter sent with the Casey House newsletter:

Newsletters offer a wonderful opportunity for you to connect with your donors and report back on the impact of their giving in action. You can use your donor newsletter as an opportunity to inspire and delight - and even ask for another gift!

Try these tips out on your next newsletter and let me know how it goes, ok?