When I was a young fundraiser, over two decades ago, I thought fundraising was sales. I had to sell major donors the case for support and do my best to move them to give a charitable gift.
I quickly realized this was a negative equation. I was taking from the donor but never really giving back. It was then I felt the need to report back to the donor, telling them how great they were for making the world a better place, but I didn’t know how to deliver this content.
Over the years I have found the best vehicle for reporting back to donors is your organization’s newsletter. If your newsletter is designed with the donor in mind and it communicates a strong sense of how important her role is in changing the world via your organization — magic happens! Your donor feels great about their recent gift and deepens their trust in you and your organization.
When using newsletters to report to major donors, I try to leverage these five elements. They have worked really well. Here they are.
- You don’t need to create a separate newsletter or report for your major donors. Use the same newsletter you create for your mass donors. This will save you time and money.
- Show your major donors that you spent time preparing the newsletter and outer envelope. Don’t fold the newsletter. Larger packages gain attention in the mail. Since you didn’t fold the newsletter you can deliver it in a large outer envelope. Hand address the envelope and use a real stamp to deliver it!
- You aren’t going to send a special newsletter (point #1) but you can draft a special, custom cover letter to include with the newsletter. Address the letter to your donor, tell your donor how great you think they are, and thank them for making the world a better place.
- If there is a special article or section of the newsletter you want to bring to their attention, then use a post-it note, paperclip, or highlighter to mark that section of the newsletter. In your cover letter, tell the donor why you marked that section for them.
- As a major gift fundraiser you are always looking for a good reason to contact the donor, so call them prior to the newsletter being delivered to let them know it is on its way! During your call you can say the same things you say in the cover letter.
Just know that your major donors are people that care deeply about your mission. They care about your work and the people you serve. They care about all of this so much that they are even willing to send you money so that your good work can continue! They deserve something in return for their gift and the newsletter is the best vehicle I know of to deliver good news and appreciation to your donors.
