Tips to Energize Your Donor Newsletter

He said the point of a donor newsletter, first and foremost, is to cultivate and retain donors. According to recent figures from Mal Warwick Associates, seven out of 10 first-time donors do not make a second gift, Ahern said. Organizations can — and should — use their newsletters to step up donor cultivation by:

• reporting results;
• thanking donors copiously for making a difference in the world;
• offering donors other ways to give, volunteer and make a difference; and
• showing that the need is still great.

He shared Merkle's tried-and-true newsletter formula, which specifies sending the newsletter in an 11-inch-by-17-inch format that folds to four 8.5-inch-by-11-inch pages; not using glossy paper; mailing in a No. 10 envelope — not a self-mailer — that has a teaser like "Your Newsletter Enclosed"; sending exclusively to current donors; including a reply envelope and reply device; and using the newsletter for "accomplishment reporting."