Let Me Tell You a Story...

Writing Great Newsletters, Part 3 of 4
by Amber Marks, Organizational Development Specialist, do good Consulting

If you’ve followed do good Consulting’s columns on newsletters the past few months, you have probably made some important improvements to your own publications. You now use consistent fonts, minimize confusing images, and reach the right audience. But how do you draw your readers into your newsletter rather than just have them scan it? How do you use your newsletter to persuade them to volunteer, to contact their legislators, to donate, to care, and to get involved?

Tell them your story!

Storytelling isn’t just for your newsletters – it really is an essential tool for all of your organization’s communication efforts. Research confirms that powerful stories about people inspire donors and volunteers more than broad information campaigns or even targeted special events. (For more on this research, see The Chronicle of Philanthropy, July 2007.)

Kivi Leroux Miller summarizes several effective storytelling strategies in her blog, Nonprofit Communications. Use these strategies to make the pages of your newsletter come alive. When you do, you will have readers turning page after page, moved by stories about your work, the people you serve, and the impacts you have.

Include a story about a real person. Talking to potential volunteers? Tell a story or two about a real volunteer and the difference she is making in the lives of others. They can take the form of personal profiles, first-person accounts, or short testimonials. Use this technique whether you are writing for your newsletter or annual report or giving a speech.

Single out one person you are helping. Instead of talking broadly about the need for low-cost childcare in your community, talk about the plight of a single mom. This is an effective technique for newsletters and fundraising appeals.

Use serial storytelling. Hook readers with frequent updates about a particular person, animal, or item. Environmental and humane groups regularly and effectively use this tactic: tracking a particular whale’s journey (“Will he evade the evil whale hunters?”) or a dog that has been badly abused, but is now on the mend after rescue (“Will she live? And walk again?”). This "to be continued" tactic is great for newsletters to keep readers anticipating your next issue.

Turn a story into a ‘how-to’ article. Using the first person (”How I...”), have someone on your staff, a board member, or a volunteer explain how to do something, based on his own experience in learning how to do it. This is a great idea for your newsletter and your website.

Include testimonials. Ask people who attended your workshop to provide testimonials about how they personally used what they learned at the event in their own work. Scatter testimonials throughout newsletters, your website, and other marketing materials.

Give each board member a good story to use. All board members should advocate for your organization at all times. Give them real stories they can use that will put your organization in a good light with potential donors, volunteers, clients, and community decision-makers. Make time at your next board meeting to learn the stories and practice telling them. Having a board member write an original story for your newsletter or website can be very powerful!

Lead your next press release with a story. Stories work great for your newsletters, blog, and website, but also work very well in working with the media. The media loves real stories, so use them as angles in your press releases and interviews. If you can make the real person in the story available for interviews, even better.

Incorporate a story into trainings. Who do you train? Volunteers, new staff, community members, others in your field? Incorporate a good story into your next training session and you will help to build even more dedicated volunteers and staff.

Rotate stories on your website. Collect stories about specific people related to your organization and rotate them on your home page to keep things fresh and keep readers coming back.

Click here for more great tips for nonprofit communications. Next month, read up on how to use your newsletter to raise money for your organization.

Q&A: Thanking Donors in Newsletters

Dear do good:
What is the best way to acknowledge donors from our recent fundraising appeal in our organization’s next newsletter? Specifically, should we list names alphabetically or should we break them into giving classes (e.g., $100-$499, $500-$1,000, etc.)? We have already sent hand-signed thank-you letters.
Thankful in Urbana

Dear Thankful:
I want to commend you on the foresight you display in publicly thanking your donors. This is very important in setting your group ahead of others asking for money (and getting it) from donors. Follow through on donations is critically important in donor relations. By not only sending thank-you notes (hopefully with a hand written note on them), as well as doing a public thank-you, you are really doing a wonderful job of donor stewardship.

Now, on to your specific question. Donor recognition in newsletters can be handled it either way: in an amount-categorized list or in an alphabetized list. Here are some thoughts to consider:

A “giving levels" listing might be used as a method to induce future donations at a similar or higher level. In other words, if you have plans to continue to fundraise for your organization (which I hope you do), this might help "remind" people of their past giving levels and keep them giving at this amount or higher.

Some organization’s tracking software might not be very conducive for making “giving levels” lists. It could take more time than it’s worth, and possibly risk too many errors. In this case, it might be more efficient for your organization to simply create an alphabetic listing of all the donors to your group for the appeal or for a certain period of time (the last quarter, all of 2007, etc.)

This all-one-list option is a more utilitarian or functional way of representing grassroots support: all donors are listed as a piece of an overall total. It is easier to administer, but you run the risk of having those folks that really wanted to “shine” not really do so in such a set up. You need to determine – based on your list and donors – how many of these types of people might be on your list (if any at all). Either way you do this, you are doing a great thing in recognizing your donors. The exact method you choose should take into account your fundraising software, staff time and capabilities, and your sense of donors’ motivations for giving.

Keep up the great work and congratulations on a successful donor recognition effort!

PS. Hopefully in your appeal materials, you provided a box for donors to remain anonymous. Be careful to respect these donors’ wishes: wherever you list them, count up the "anonymous" givers (by overall total or by category) and be sure to list them in whatever set-up you end up choosing.

Have a question for do good experts? Submit your inquiry to dogood@dogoodconsulting.org.

Group Spotlight: Willow Tree Missions

by Jennifer Knapp, do good Consulting

Hope lies in new beginnings and fresh starts. Millions of people see the start of a new year as a chance to change, and we make our resolutions for what we are going to do differently. At Willow Tree Missions, however, it does not take a new year for people to have hope for change. It only takes walking through the door.

Located in Cisco, Illinois in Piatt County, Willow Tree Missions offers a resale shop, food program, and soon, a shelter for victims of domestic violence. The Mission’s founders, Jennifer and Steve Courson, wanted to give people opportunities to receive assistance right in their home community – even in rural Piatt County. “Violence affects families, and severely affects children. The community needs to help families through that. The local community is the best place to start,” said Suzanne Wells, President of the Board of Directors.

The domestic violence shelter will be the only one of its kind in Piatt County. It will give women a chance to leave their abusers while still remaining in a rural area and keeping their children in the schools they know and love. The Inn will be located on the second floor of the Willow Tree Missions building. Renovations are already underway, and will be kicked into high gear in January.

Although the Inn is not yet open, Willow Tree Missions is already changing lives. “Every day there is a new story, and God does something amazing,” Suzanne related. “A local woman who received help started volunteering with us because she is so grateful. She only has a few free hours in her day, but she chooses to come here and give back to others because she was touched. A homeless man who was hitchhiking through the area sat and talked with a volunteer while others gathered new clothes, a coat, a backpack and food for him. The volunteer was so moved by the conversation that he went home and collected some items for the man from his own belongings.”

Suzanne captured the spirit of Willow Tree Mission when she told me why she is involved. “People help,” she said, “I see the generosity of this community from a front row seat. We get to see the best in everybody. If I wear my Willow Tree Mission shirt, people come up and hand me money for the Mission. How could you not be involved in something like that?”

If you want to get involved in providing new hope and new opportunities for people in Piatt County, contact Willow Tree Mission at (217) 637-3350 or on the web at willowtreemissions.org.

Know a group you think that do good should profile in an upcoming Doing Good issue? Email us!

My Resolution Turnaround

by Laura Huth, do good Consulting President & CEO

My goal – without definition – could have been so broad that it lacked definable ways to achieve it. So, I focused not on the goal itself, but on two specifics of how I planned to accomplish it.

First, I set out to properly sort all incoming and outgoing emails. I did not want 1,000 emails in my inbox. My new policy dictated there could never be over 100 emails in my inbox – for any reason. So I dealt with all outstanding emails, created necessary filing systems, and deleted messages I no longer needed until I reached my goal. Then I stayed on top on it.

Second, I pledged to keep my in-box under control. No longer would it serve as long-term storage. So, I set aside time to review and empty it weekly, flagging items for work that week, filing as needed, or discarding when appropriate.

As a result, I am now enjoying the benefits of this increased organization: clients satisfied with my responsiveness, a growing network of consultants, and more clients with whom to work.

I am now a believer in such resolutions. Such personal and professional goal setting is critically important for a well-functioning organization and anyone who wishes to success in their job and tasks. So how do you apply such strategies in your work and home life? Here are my tips for you:

First, start with setting REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS. While you can have a broad goal (like “get organized”), be sure to break it down into a couple of key and achievable steps you can take throughout the year (clean the basement storage room and overhaul the garage). Also, setting any numeric values to your goal can also help you quantify success (i.e., don’t just say “lose weight”, say “reach 125 pounds by December 1 , 2008). Then create a series of action steps to help you reach your goals (i.e., set aside two weekends with the family to clean out the storage room, or vow to eliminate red meat for six days each week). Writing all this down helps to make it more real.

Now, set aside time to actually VISUALIZE the change you wish to see. Imagine how nice it will be to have a cleaned-out storage room – a space you can actually walk through and find things in. Envision yourself at your desired weight and dream about the new outfits you would like to wear or being able to take a long walk with your partner without getting winded. Really close your eyes and visualize this: create a vivid picture in your mind.

Next, INVOLVE STAKEHOLDERS in your vision. Share your goal and plans with others by telling them and sharing your written plan with them. Ask them to check in with you periodically over your project period (the year, the next month). This shared accountability is very important: once you have told others your plan, this can be a very motivating force indeed.

Finally, periodically CHECK YOURSELF against your goals. Set aside time to review your goals and see how you are doing. Reward yourself if you are making adequate progress, and find ways to motivate yourself further if you are lagging. Don’t wait until a few days before year’s end to check in – do it regularly to keep yourself motivated.

I am very pleased with the results of my efforts over the last year and am enjoying more business success as a result. See if you can put the tactics I used to work for you in 2008!