Dogs, like children, thrive on routine. We all do. Even your donors thrive on routine.
According to researcher Penelope Burk, 46% of donors leave for reasons tied to a lack of meaningful information or to a feeling their giving is not appreciated. And 70% of donors would increase their giving if they received what they needed from charities.
What do donors need? To know that their gift was received and is being put to work. (Contrary to what you might have been told, donors are not difficult to please.)
With a simple “Ask+Thank+Report+Repeat” 12-Touch method like the one outlined in Simple Development Systems, you’ll never leave your donors wondering. You’ll create a habit of connecting with your donors on the regular.
And you’ll condition your supporters to look forward to hearing from you.
(Pay attention. This is kind of major.)
Right now, when the world is in a shaky place, a routine that you can embrace will make your donors — and you — feel better. One of the best ways to do that is with a regular print donor newsletter. Your organization’s newsletter provides the reporting piece of your “Ask+Thank+Report+Repeat” equation.
The impact your donors are making…through you.
We recommend a simple print newsletter.
Why Donors Love Routine
Think about your morning coffee. You use the same mug. You brew it the same way. You might sit in the same spot. That routine isn’t boring—it’s comforting. It makes you feel stable in a crazy world.
Your donors feel the same way when they get your newsletter. Whether it’s every three months, monthly, or three times a year, that regular contact becomes something they look forward to.
It reminds them that their gift is working.
When donors know they’ll hear from you regularly — not just when you need money — they trust you more. And trust is the foundation of fundraising.
Why Print Works Better Than Email
I know what you’re thinking. “Isn’t print expensive? Shouldn’t we just email and save money?”
Here’s the thing: when done right, print newsletters don’t just cost money — they make money. Big money.
When Child Bridge sent its first print newsletter, it brought in $20,000. Nashville Rescue Mission? They raise $2 million every year with their print newsletter alone.
Print works better than email because:
- Print sticks around. Your email gets deleted. But a print newsletter sits on the kitchen counter. It gets passed to a spouse. Maybe it goes in a purse to read later. It has a longer life. (Veteran fundraisers have stories about receiving checks in envelopes coded from 10-year-old newsletters.)
- Print shows you care. When donors see you spent money on printing and postage, they know you value them. It’s like getting a handwritten note instead of a text.
- Print is harder to ignore. We delete emails with one click. But that newsletter in the mailbox needs a decision: read it, save it, or throw it away. That extra step means more people actually read it.
The Formula That Makes Money
For years, I got newsletters wrong. I thought they were just nice thank-you/impact pieces. Then I discovered how newsletters done right bring in real revenue. The formula that works is simple:
- An 11 x 17 sheet folded in half to make four pages, then folded again to fit in an envelope
- Mail it in a regular #10 envelope (never as a self-mailer)
- Put a teaser on the envelope: “Your latest donor newsletter enclosed”
- Always include a reply envelope
- Mail only to current donors (test this)
- Send as often as monthly, though most groups manage every three months
The secret isn’t a fancy design. It’s the right mindset. This isn’t a PR piece about how great you are. This is a love letter to your donors about the impact they’re creating.
Making Every Dollar Count
“But we can’t afford fancy printing,” you might say. Good news: you don’t need fancy. Testing showed that one-color, two-color, or full-color didn’t matter for results. What mattered was the envelope, the reply device, and donor-focused content.
Think about it: if Child Bridge’s first newsletter brought in $20,000, and printing and mailing costs maybe $2,000, that’s ten dollars back for every dollar spent.
What other fundraising gives you results like that?
When you invest in print, you’re buying:
- Donor retention (regular contact keeps donors engaged)
- Bigger gifts (connected donors give more)
- Lifetime value (happy donors give year after year)
- Word-of-mouth (satisfied donors tell friends)
- Legacy giving
What Happens When You’re Consistent
Here’s what happens when you stick to a regular newsletter schedule:
- Month 1: Donors are surprised. “How nice! They told us what happened with our gifts.”
- Month 6: Donors expect it. They look forward to your updates.
- Month 12: Your newsletter becomes routine. They notice if it’s late.
- Month 24: You have newsletter donors—people who give because your newsletter moves them.
This only works if you’re consistent. Skip issues and you lose the momentum that makes newsletters powerful.
How to Start Smart
You don’t need a design degree or a huge budget. Here’s how to start:
- Make donors the heroes. In every story, you’ll want to put donors first. It’s not that hard. “We opened a clinic” becomes “You Made Our New Clinic Possible.”
- Tell stories, not stats. One good story about how a gift changed a life beats a dozen charts about efficiency.
- Make it easy to scan. Use solid headlines, photo captions, and short paragraphs. Many donors skim before they read.
- Show people’s faces. We look at faces first, especially when someone looks at the camera. Stock photos are fine if you need them for privacy.
- Include a way to give. This isn’t mainly asking for money, but moved donors should be able to respond easily.
The Routine That Changes Everything
When you commit to regular print newsletters, you change how donors see you. Instead of hearing from you only when you need money, they hear about the good work they’re making possible.
This changes the conversation from “What do you want from me?” to “Look what we’re doing together!”
In our uncertain world, that positive, regular routine isn’t just nice — it’s vital. Your donors need to know their gifts make a steady difference.
And your organization needs the steady income that regular newsletters provide.
The question isn’t whether you can afford print newsletters. It’s whether you can afford not to do them.
Start your routine with the next newsletter. When will you send yours?
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