Delivering the Case for Support – Part 4 of 4

If it isn’t really “news” articles that people want to see and will respond to, what is it that will turn on our donors and prospects?

Let’s take that article about decorating the charity’s offices and teaching rooms that we talked about yesterday. Suppose we add an element of donor involvement. Then let’s give some examples that connect donor generosity to our mission with youth. Let’s thank, and commend, and talk about “going beyond” the expected.

“We’re extremely appreciative of the many donors who responded to our spring mail appeal. People like you gave us an unprecedented $5000 over our goal for this mailing. So we are using your generous gifts to reach our young learners with new enhancements to their learning environment.

“For example, thanks to your generosity, and that of three long-time volunteers, we now have newly painted learning rooms that are brighter and more professional-looking. We have found that already there is a keener interest on the part of our students. The teachers are using the new corkboards for exhibiting students’ work, and we invite you to come see how their learning has improved with the new decor and arrangements.

“Thank you so much for going that extra mile to give us more than we had hoped. You have made such a difference in the lives of our students. Take Julie and Mary, for example. They were so excited by their new homeroom that they now come a half our early, and we can’t get them out of there at closing time because they are so eager to stay involved in their projects.”

Or we could delve into that second article about teaching components. The first sentence in this article is good, with just a little modification. But then we need to take it in a different direction:

“Some of our generous donors, like you, often wonder why we tutor our students at our site as opposed to our volunteer tutors meeting the children in their homes or in a public setting such as a school or library. After all, wouldn’t it reduce our overhead costs?

“We know you want us to deliver our highly effective curriculum in the most efficient ways possible. That makes your hard-earned, generously-given dollars go further. So we’ve done studies with our students to see which environment offers the most complete and lasting learning experience. After all, we know that you would agree that if the learning doesn’t “stick” then it’s not real “learning,” is it?

“We set three groups a similar learning task. One group went through their learning process at our center; the second group went to a public library; the third group was taught in a local school classroom after school hours. All students were taught by our trained volunteers. And we know you are wondering about the results obtained from a curriculum that was exactly the same for all three groups.

“What we found was that the ingredients of our learning center were 75% more effective than those experienced by the other groups. You’ll appreciate the fact that when we asked the students in each group what motivated them the most, the students who learned in our center environment said they preferred our private rooms where they could have one-on-one learning experiences. You might also identify with some of the students who felt that the peer-to-peer learning in our small group writing sessions was invaluable, too.

“Your generous donations have made it possible for us to set up our center with unique advantages for this type of student. As you may know, often these students have pretty low levels of self-esteem. That means privacy is helpful at the start, because many are embarrassed that they don’t know much. Later, their peers, struggling together, become the best teachers. You can imagine our surprise to see Susan – the one who started out last in the class – now teaching the younger kids coming up through the ranks!

“We would love to have you come and visit with us to see the progress these young people can make in our new environment. And, if I haven’t already said it, we are so grateful that you gave more than we asked for! It has helped immensely. One of our girls said just the other day, ‘Don’t forget, Miss Hamilton, to mention how thankful I am to the people who gave the money for the paint and pictures.’ So I’m letting you know that your gifts have brightened the hearts, the learning and the lives of our 15 young learners. Thank you so much!”

In other words, the “newsletter” is just a long “thank you” letter to donors. You see, the point here is not to give a list of pedagogical features of the ABC Charity’s program. That’s academic, dry and uninteresting, unless you’re an academic and a researcher in the field. What donors and prospects want to know is how THEY figure into the learning equation, and how THEY are getting THEIR OWN objectives accomplished through the charity’s work. They feel great about the fact that ABC Charity is being effective. They want to know that the work is carried out efficiently and that it gets results. They want to know that staff is doing a lot with a little bit, and that volunteers are involved. But mostly they want to know how THEY are making a difference, and how THEY have helped people learn.

The “newsletter” is not about the organization; it is about the donors and prospects out there. The “newsletter” is not a newspaper, but a “thank you” and a “here’s what you did” sort of publication. It keeps people in touch in a motivational way that builds both involvement and a set of expectations in the donors. The so-called “newsletter” is a “reach out and touch” kind of publication, and if it doesn’t result in new, more and bigger gifts, it’s a waste of time and money.