Is your newsletter great donor relationship-building, or an unwise self-indulgence?

by Tom Ahern & Sean Triner

Almost all nonprofits produce a newsletter and send it out with their warm appeals. But should they?

AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons): legacies booklet and newsletter

by SOFII

This booklet and newsletter were the centerpiece of a direct marketing legacy promotion programme. Given the huge size of the AARP membership and the substantial range of interests and abilities, Mal Warwick Associates opted to organise the multi-faceted legacy programme illustrated in these materials.

Please note: This exhibit is "under construction"

Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation: 2007 annual report

by SOFII

How do you recognise your donors, produce a key communications tool on the cheap and still manage to turn in a handy profit – all in a ‘one-person fundraising shop’?

MCC-Murray Culshaw Consulting Pvt Ltd: 2007/8 annual report

by SOFII

This is an annual report specifically designed to help India's nonprofit organisations to communicate effectively and economically through their annual report. But you don't have to be in India to benefit from this simple clear tutorial. Have a look now.

ALS Canada: ‘Ways to Support’ document

by SOFII

SOFII has simple tastes. We love fundraising that costs little but raises lots. Anyone can copy these materials, which are so homemade they are reproduced on the office photocopier. Donors will love this, not just because it tells them all they need to know but also because it’s no frills/low cost.

St Michael’s Hospital Foundation: a special book to thank volunteers

by SOFII

Fundraisers all too often take their volunteers for granted so it's good to see an organisation setting out specifically to be brilliant at saying thank you to them. Having raised $140 million thanks to the help of volunteers it was reasonable that the people at St Michael's should invest time and resources in saying thank you properly.

How to write a better newsletter

by John Grain

In this article, John Grain tells us in simple terms what a good newsletter should be. If you want some solid, practical advice about writing a better newsletter, you need to read this.

St Michael’s Hospital Foundation: the 2010/11 annual report to donors

by SOFII

The St Michael’s Hospital Foundation view their hard-working and very appealing annual report as an opportunity to showcase the accomplishments of the past year and honour their generous donors. It shows them that their donations have been wisely spent and have made a real difference to the patients cared for at St. Michael’s.

Rhode Island Foundation: why less can be more with the annual report, particularly when it comes to legacies

by SOFII

To send or not to send? If you ask your donors if they want to receive your annual report, why do you think they don’t reply? It could be inertia, ‘I’ll do it tomorrow’. Maybe they think they'll be saving you time and money, they’re nice, considerate people after all. By the same token intertia will stop them going to your website to view your report online – and you will never know. If you send a printed copy, you know they have it and might they not be more likely to look at it, if it’s there in their hands? The stories here from Tom Ahern and the Rhode Island Foundatio show the power of the printed word.

Grassroots International: their distinctive annual report

by SOFII

Grassroots Interenational’s staff diligently take photos during field visits and now they have a wide choice of images to use in their annual report. They also use donor profiles to support their message, so GRI donors are interested and highly involved.

Dr Barnardo’s Homes: how the death of Carrots led to a powerful slogan, from 1866

by SOFII

The death of a lonely young boy led Dr Barnardo to declare that the children’s homes that bore his name should never, ever close their doors to any child. A great example of fine writing combined with sincerity.

NSPCC’s supporter magazine The Children’s Friend

by SOFII

With their newly adapted online supporter magazine, the NSPCC are maximising a key supporter retention mechanism and making it relevant to the lives of their supporters.