writing

Make Your Newsletter Shine

Ann Green Communications, marketing, writing

In our social media world, is a newsletter still a relevant form of communication?  It can be, if it’s done well, which it often isn’t. 

Marketing consultant Kivi Leroux Miller recently surveyed a number of nonprofit organizations and found a majority of the respondents were either somewhat satisfied or not satisfied with their newsletter.  Some of the responses she received included organizations weren’t getting the response rates they wanted and they were unclear on their goals.
Nonprofit Email Newsletter Happiness
Leroux Miller also asked a more specific question about newsletter goals and found over half of the respondents had rather vague goals  like “Keep people informed about the work of our organization.” and “Remind people we are here and doing good work,” as opposed to 10% who replied “share results and gratitude with current donors.”
I Was Afraid of This: E-Newsletter Goals
How does your newsletter fare?  Do you have strong goals?

As I mentioned above, newsletters still have a role in nonprofit communications.  Here are a few ways to make your newsletter shine.

Make it visual
Your donors are busy and don’t have a lot of time to read your newsletter, and likely won’t read all of it (sad, but true).  That’s why it needs to be visual.

Whether you have a print or electronic newsletter, use pictures.  With an electronic newsletter, you could include a link to a video.  Showcase engaging photos and video of your work in action. Tell a visual story.

Be reader-friendly
Continuing with the visual theme, make your newsletter is easy to read and scan. Use bold headings, short paragraphs, and at least a 12-point font.  Make sure your headings convey enough information to give your readers the gist of your stories.

Consider including just the opening paragraph in your electronic newsletter with a link to your website, so you are not cluttering up the screen with lots of text.

Short and sweet
The problem with many newsletters is they are too long. A monthly newsletter only needs three or four stories. Think quality over quantity.

Engage your readers
Another problem with newsletters is they are boring.  Your donor wants to be thanked and hear how you making a difference for the people you serve.  They are not as interested in hearing that your CEO received 
an award from the Chamber of Commerce.

Lead with a story that shows how you are helping people.  Use the inverted pyramid and put your most important story first. 

You can include profiles of board members and volunteers, but tie it back to how you are making difference.

Write in the second person and draw in your readers by being personal and conversational.

Be professional
No matter the size of your organization, make sure your newsletter looks professional.  Give it a consistent look, such as always having your logo in the same place.  Using an email service provider can help with that. 

Use other channels to promote your newsletter
Include links to your newsletter on social media.  This can be useful in case your donor misses your original email.  Also, include links to your newsletter on your website.

Make it mobile friendly
Many of your donors will read your newsletter on a mobile device, so make sure it fits nicely on the screen.  Here’s some information to help you with that. 
How to Format Your Nonprofit Newsletter
Measure your success
One way to monitor your success is to measure click through rates.  That may not give you all the information you need.  You can also survey your readers at least once a year to get their feedback.

Take into account what you have learned.  If you are struggling with your newsletter, figure out why. 

You will have more success with your newsletter if you produce one that’s easy to read and filled stories about how you are making a difference.  Make it shine!

The Communication Journey

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, marketing, writing

Marketing expert Seth Godin recently blogged Communication is a path, not an event 

In short, it’s not a one-time thing.  While he focuses more on sales, this also applies to all your nonprofit fundraising and marketing.  You don’t just send a fundraising letter or even a thank you letter and not communicate again for awhile.  It’s an ongoing process. 

Here are few ways to ensure a successful communication journey.

Lots of drops will help your garden grow
Godin ends his post by saying “Drip, drip, drip.”  Drip marketing is a strategy where you send a series of messages to prospects.  An example would be sending welcoming messages to prospective donors before making an ask.  The term’s origin is thought to have come from a gardening technique in which small amounts of water are fed to plants over a long period of time. 

This is a helpful analogy to consider when you communicate with your donors and other supporters.  Read on for more information about drip campaigns. How to Create an Email Drip Campaign for Your Nonprofit 

Consistency is key
Be consistent in your fundraising and marketing.  This means your messages and look must be consistent, as well as how often you send out your messages.  If you send out a monthly newsletter, make sure it goes out around the same time each month.  Don’t skip a month. 

Don’t start your journey without a map
Creating a strategy and putting together an editorial calendar can serve as a road map for your communication journey.  Here’s more information, as well as an editorial calendar link. 
Creating Content on the Topics You Want to be Known for  
The LightBox Collaborative 2013 Editorial Calendar
Communication is a two way street
Listen to your audience.  Ask questions on social media, respond to comments, and send out surveys or polls.

Take your supporters’ feedback into account and give them information they want.

Communication takes different paths
Most of us communicate through more than one channel – email, social media, direct mail, phone. Different modes work for different audiences, but often you use a combination of channels.

This is very helpful during fundraising campaigns. A multi-channel approach gives you more than one opportunity to reach your audience, in case they miss your first message.

Be known but don’t be annoying
Communicate often enough so your supporters will remember you, but not too much so that you are bothering them.  Most organizations don’t communicate enough.  Remember to be consistent.  Don’t send three email messages in one day and not communicate again for three weeks.

As a general rule, send email once a week and post on social media once a day.

In your quest not to annoy your supporters, share content where you show gratitude and demonstrate how you are making a difference for the people you serve.  Keep your supporters engaged.

One of the benefits of communicating weekly is that your messages can be short.  Shorter more frequent communication usually works better for getting your message across.

Don’t get derailed
It may seem daunting to keep up this ongoing communication journey, but good relationships, like gardens, need lots of attention.  It’s not as difficult as you might think.  Having an editorial calendar and strategy will help.  And your messages don’t need to be long.  Also, it can be fun to thank donors and share success.   

Make it a worthwhile journey for your supporters.

How Are You Making a Difference?

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, marketing, writing

When nonprofit organizations reach out to donors and other supporters to share accomplishments, I often see something like the examples below.  (All names are fictitious).

We started a community garden in the Westside neighborhood.

Youth First just opened a new activity center for our afterschool program.

We received a $50,000 grant from the Jones Foundation.

A Place to Call Home found affordable housing for over 100 families last year.

These are okay on one level, but they are more focused on activities than accomplishments.  They don’t answer the question – How are you making a difference for the people you serve?

Focus on why rather than what
When you are communicating with donors, think about why your accomplishments are important.

Instead of just reporting that you have started a community garden, emphasize how that will make a difference.  Now neighborhood residents have access to fresh fruit and vegetables, which are often not available at nearby stores or are too expensive.

Instead of just noting that your afterschool program has a brand new activity center, demonstrate that you are providing a safe place for young people to interact and learn new skills.

Of course, publically acknowledging your major funders is important, but what will that $50,000 grant be used for?  How will it help people?

What does it mean for the families who you helped find affordable housing?  Show how a family that was living in a shelter or with relatives now has a place they can call home.

Be conversational and personal
Draw in your reader with something personal.  Use stories, quotes, and testimonials, as well as photos and videos.  Go easy on the statistics and avoid using jargon.  

When you tell a story, choose a protagonist – an individual or family- and give them a name. You can change their names to protect their privacy.

This post by Katya Andreson is about mission statements, but can apply to all your communications. How do I make my mission sound more exciting?  She recommends giving your messages a heartbeat, which I think is great advice.  She also says, “Always answer the question, at the end of the day, whose life is better for what we do?” 

Many people donate because they have a personal connection to your cause.  Don’t bore them with a lot of long-winded facts.

They want to see how you are making a difference. 

Work with program staff to find stories
Often development and marketing staff don’t have firsthand knowledge of how your organization is making a difference.  This is why you need to work with program staff to create compelling stories and testimonials.  

Come up with a system that won’t make anyone feel overburdened.  Let’s Work Together – The Importance of a Good Relationship with the Program Department 

Show your donors how they are helping you make a difference
Finally, don’t forget to thank your donors and let them know that they are a key to your success.  After all, you wouldn’t be able to make a difference for the people you serve without their support.

How is your organization making a difference?

Time For Some Spring Cleaning

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing, website, writing

Spring is here, yea!  Spring is a time for new beginnings.  It’s a time to clean up what’s old and make room for something new.

Many of you may take on spring cleaning projects in your home.  Here are a few spring cleaning projects you can do that will benefit your nonprofit organization.

Clean up your mailing lists
Did you have an influx of address changes, returned mail, and bounced emails after you sent out your annual appeal?  Now is a good time to clean up and update both your print and email mailing lists.

You should be emailing your supporters regularly, so you need to keep your list up-to-date.  Remember never to add people to your list without their permission.

You may not mail as often, but why wait until right before your next big mailing to clean up your list.   

Update your donor database
Most likely your print mailing list is part of your donor database.  Besides updating that, make any other additions, changes, and deletions you need to make in your database.  For example, if you had a conversation with a donor, include that. Your donor database is an important tool and you need it to be up-to-date and filled with accurate information about your donors.

Spring Cleaning Your Database

Check in with lapsed donors
As you are cleaning up your mailing lists and database, you may come across some lapsed donors.  These folks can be an untapped source of revenue, so don’t let them get away. Find your best prospects and give them a call.  This is something your board can help you with. 

There are many reasons these donors haven’t given recently – they were too busy to donate last fall, they can’t afford to give right now, or they may not be interested in your organization anymore.  If it’s the last one, hopefully it’s not because you aren’t engaging with them regularly.  Whatever the reason, it’s always good to get feedback.

Where to Find the Gold In Your Fundraising 

Update your website
Your website is often one of the first places a newcomer will visit.  Your current supporters may also visit regularly.  It’s very important that you keep it up-to-date, that it looks good, and it’s easy to navigate. 

Use this checklist to help ensure that you have an effective and engaging website. 

A Website Checklist

Come up with fresh content
In the spring we can open the windows and let in some fresh air.  Have you been using the same stories and photos for awhile?  Start coming up with fresh stories, quotes, testimonials, and photos to use in all your materials.  It’s fine to use the same stories and photos in different materials, but it’s also a good idea to come up with some new ones.

Do You Have Good Stories To Tell?
Take advantage of this time to make any updates and changes you need to make. What spring cleaning projects do you have in mind for your organization?

The Personal Touch

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, writing

I recently received a mailing from a nonprofit organization highlighting its 2012 accomplishments.  As I read it, I was struck by the impersonal tone and that the organization wasn’t focusing on the people they serve.

I don’t mean to single out this organization, because I know others are guilty of the same thing. This organization does great work and to their credit they did try to engage with their donors, they thanked their donors, and they didn’t ask for another donation. 

That said I would have recommended something more personal. Here are a few things to keep in mind when you communicate with your donors. 

Not all donors are the same
The mailing seemed more appropriate for grant or corporate funders.  This organization specializes in cancer treatment and research. Some of the accomplishments they featured were advances in their research, grants received, and their national and local rankings.

The only donation I ever made to them was when I bought their holiday cards.  I was drawn to the organization and their work because I lost a beloved uncle to cancer last fall.

People donate to nonprofit organizations for a variety of reasons, but many give because they have a personal connection to the cause.  These donors are going to want to hear how you are helping people.

Be conversational
In this mailing, the organization referenced a new community cancer care clinic they opened at a local health center, located in what they referred to as a “medically underserved community.”  That’s a great accomplishment, but the word underserved sounds like jargon to me.  

I think you should be conversational with donors and not use jargon or clinical sounding words.  Imagine yourself talking to a friend and use everyday language. 

How are you making a difference?
The organization shared a list of accomplishments that focused much more on their success than the specific impact they had on the people they serve.

I would have liked a story about a person whose life benefited from this new clinic.  Perhaps they could have highlighted a patient who used to have to travel miles to get care and now it’s available a few blocks from her home.

The organization also emphasized its “compassionate care”.  What does that mean?  Maybe they could have included stories and testimonials demonstrating that.

Use engaging photos
All photos in this mailing were black and white and most of them were pictures of researchers.  I know you can’t always include photos of patients, but maybe feature some who had successful treatments, along with their stories. 

They did include a photo of kids hanging out with some baseball players.  More photos like this would have been better.

Finally, photos are usually more captivating when they are in color.

What are you sending out? 
Take some time to look at the messages and materials you are sending out.  Are they appropriate for each donor group?   Are you focused on thanking your donors and showing how you are making a difference for 
people you serve?

You’ll do a better job of engaging your donors if you can be personal.

Your Attention Please

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, marketing, writing

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve written about the importance of engaging your donors.  One way is regular communication with them.  You may have created a plan and chosen donor-centered content, which is great.  Now you need to get their attention to get your messages across. 

Think short
You might have better luck with shorter more frequent messages.  Aim for every week or every two weeks.  If you only send out a monthly e-newsletter, your donor might miss your email due to a number of reasons – vacation, work, family.

You only have a few seconds
When sending email choose subject lines that will capture your donor’s attention.  February Newsletter is not as enticing as Learn How You Can Help Prevent Childhood Hunger.  The same goes for headlines in your newsletter and website.

Consistency is key
All your messages and materials, both electronic and print, should have a consistent look.  Your donors will start to recognize your brand, and hopefully see you as a reputable source.

Make it easy
Your donors are busy and are receiving messages from a variety of different sources besides your organization.  In most cases, they are going to scan your message, so make sure they still get the gist of what you want to convey.

Your messages should be easy to read and scan.  Use a white background with black type.  Use lots of white space and bold headings.  In addition, use at least a 12 point font (bigger is better).

Make it visual
Photos and graphics can tell a story in an instant, but in certain venues such as email, they can create problems.  Here are some ways to prevent this. Top Five Worst Nonprofit Email Marketing Mistakes: #3 Assuming Users Will See Your Graphics and here is a creative way to enable images. How to get donors to enable images in email
Photos are great in print pieces and on Facebook.

You need good content
That might seem obvious, but if your donor has come this far and is ready to read your message, don’t shortchange them. Put yourself in your donor’s shoes.  What would they be interested in?  In most cases personal stories triumph over a bunch of statistics.

When creating content, remember the four Cs – be clear, concise, conversational, and compelling. The 4 Cs of Writing Good Content 

Think multichannel
Use different channels.  Besides email, communicate by social media, on your website, and through the mail.  Measure which channels work best for you.  You can communicate the same message through different channels. For example, include links to your newsletter on social media.

Be mobile friendly
Many people read email and look at social media and websites on their mobile devices or tablets.  I am not a technology expert, but I do know that when I read content on my iPhone, I’m much happier when it fits nicely on the screen.  This will make your donors happier too, and that’s what you want.

Here are some resources about going mobile.

Four Strategies for Going Mobile
Mobile Resources
Be known but don’t be annoying
Some organizations are afraid of annoying their donors by communicating too often, but most don’t communicate enough.  Remember your donors might miss some of your messages. 

Staying in touch once a week and sending out short, engaging messages will help you get your donor’s attention.

Find Ways To Engage With Your Donors

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, writing

This post was featured in the February 2013 Blog Carnival

Have you heard the dismal news about donor retention?  It doesn’t need to be that way.  One solution to keeping your donors is better engagement.

Try to engage with your donors by email once a week.  If you use social media, you can communicate more often  –  generally once a day on Facebook and a couple of times a day on Twitter.

Quality counts
Whatever you send out, make it donor-centric.  Focus on success stories.  Show how the donor was part of that success.  And always show gratitude. 

Be welcoming
If you are not are already doing this, send a welcome message to your new email subscribers. Personalize it, say thank you, and give a brief summary of what types of information they will receive.

What about my newsletter?
Perhaps you send out an email newsletter once a month or every two weeks, and that’s fine.  While it’s generally recommended that nonprofits communicate with their supporters anywhere between once a week and once a month, I would aim for closer to once a week.

One issue with e-newsletters is that they are too long.  If you are sending out a monthly newsletter, keep it to a few articles.  People have short attention spans.

Testing time
Here is a good opportunity to test.  Measure to see how people respond to short weekly updates as opposed to your longer monthly newsletter.

You can still send out newsletters, and supplement them with short messages in between. 

What should I send out?
Remember to keep your audience in mind.  Also, keep your messages short.  Make them easy to read and scan.  Besides providing updates, here are a few other ways to keep your supporters engaged.

Surveys
Send out short surveys.  You can ask people their opinion on an issue or something else relevant to your work.  Make people feel included.  One nonprofit I know of that sells holiday cards asks folks to vote on their favorite designs.
If people respond well to your short surveys, perhaps you could do one a month.

Here is more information about creating surveys and other ways to get feedback from your supporters. HOW TO GET FEEDBACK FROM YOUR SUPPORTERS

Advocacy alerts
Send out an advocacy alert on a piece of legislation that affects the people you serve.

You’ll have more success if you make it easy to take action.  Provide a sample phone script, letter, or email template.  You could send out an existing advocacy email from another organization, if it’s too hard to create your own.  Be sure to credit that organization.

Another way to engage is to report back results on that legislation.

Say thank you
Why not make a point to send a thank you message to your donors each month.  Share a success story and let them know that you couldn’t have accomplished that without their support.

Always find ways to say thank you.

Invite people to join you on social media
Send an invitation via email to join you on Facebook and Twitter.  But don’t stop there.  Show your supporters what they will get out of it.

Remember that social media is social, so ask questions to engage folks.  Start a conversation.

Here some ways to build a community on Facebook. 7 reasons your nonprofit Facebook page has no fans 

Share photos and videos
Share photos of the people you serve.  Not all email providers display photos, so you’ll want to include a link to link to your website. Facebook is great for sharing photos.

You might not have the capacity to create a video, but if you do, make it high quality and short.  Share videos of the people you serve participating in activities or better yet saying thank you to your donors!

Other ideas include sharing testimonials and quotes.  I favor stories over statistics, but you could share some interesting statistics with a link to a story.  Phrase it, Did you know…..?

Get organized
If you use an editorial calendar, you shouldn’t have a problem coming up with and organizing your content.  Make it cross channel and include email, social media, website, and print.  Figure out what to send out and when.  Here is more information on creating editorial calendars.  Your Most Powerful Social Media Tool for 2013 

Keep measuring how people respond to your messages.  If you are not getting much of a response from your surveys, either do them differently or find another way to engage.

All roads lead to your website
While I’ve been emphasizing email communication, and to a certain extent, social media, often these messages include links to your website.
Keep your entire website up-to-date and engaging.  You never know if your supporters will travel from your web link to another page on your website.

It’s very important for you to communicate with your donors regularly and keep them interested and engaged in your work. 

Let’s hope next year at this time we won’t be reading all these dismal statistics about donor retention.

Your Audience Isn’t Everyone

Ann Green Communications, fundraising, marketing, writing

Have you or someone in your organization ever said “We want everyone to know about us.” Everyone, really?  I hate to break it to you, but EVERYONE is not interested in your organization, even though you may be doing great work.

Kivi Leroux Miller of Nonprofit Marketing Guide.com points out there is no general public, and when you try to reach out to everyone, you reach out to no one.

In addition, just saying you want people to know about you (e.g. raising awareness) is a vague goal.  You need a call to action, such as donating, volunteering, contacting your legislator, or attending an event. With a clear call to action,you will also raise awareness.

Who is your audience?
Take some time to put together audience profiles or personas.  You can survey or interview your supporters, or just put together a profile to the best of your knowledge.  The more accurate you can make it, the better.

Here is more information on putting together audience personas.
Create Personas to Bridge the Gap with Target Audiences 

How to Develop Donor Personas for Your Nonprofit
Make a point to get to know your audience.  Listen to what they have to say about you.  Social media is a great platform for that.  

Communicating with your audience
Once you figure out who your audience is, visualize yourself communicating with them, or better yet, with one person.  Your messages should meet their needs and interests.

Remember that one size doesn’t fit all. Messages to donors will be different from messages to volunteers.  Come up with content which will persuade that group to take action. Create clear, concise, conversational, and compelling messages.  The 4 Cs of Writing Good Content
Your audience is a great resource
As you plan to find new donors, volunteers, and other supporters, you usually don’t have to look very far.

How many people who subscribe to your mailing list and follow you on social media are donors?   If they aren’t, they are great candidates to become ones.  Much more so than people who don’t know you.

Your volunteers are potential donors and your donors are potential volunteers.

Also, social media makes it easy for supporters to share information such as attending events, volunteering, and even donating with their friends.

You often don’t have to go far to find new supporters.

Track your audience
Of course, you will need to expand your audience and your best bet is people who will be most likely to support your cause.

Keep track of how your audience responds.  Who donated to your annual appeal?  Was it current donors, mailing list subscribers, or event attendees?  Who is more likely to volunteer – seniors, people in faith communities or colleges students?

Keep this in mind as you seek to expand your audience.

Finding an audience through media coverage
Getting media coverage is not as essential for publicity as it was in the past.  Now you can also communicate the same information via your website and social media.

That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t seek media coverage.  But plan carefully.  Besides coming up with a newsworthy story, choose publications that will be most likely to publish it and ones that have a similar audience.  Sometimes small and local will bring you better results.

Always remember that your audience isn’t everyone.  The more you know who your audience is and can create messages they will respond to, the more successful you will be.

How to Create an Annual Report That’s Not Boring

Ann Green Communications, donor relations, fundraising, writing

Nonprofit organizations are not required to produce an annual report, but I believe your organization will benefit by having one.  

When I mention an annual report, are you picturing a long, boring document filled with wordy text and statistics?  It doesn’t have to be like that.

The key is to create an annual report that will engage your supporters and not bore them.  Here are a few ways you can do that.

Tell a story
Share a success story about a person you have helped.  Let’s say you run a tutoring program.  Instead of rattling off a bunch of statistics about young people doing poorly in school, tell a story about Jason, a young man who was struggling academically, but started doing better in school after weekly tutoring sessions with Rob, a volunteer tutor.

Make it visual
Find some engaging photos to include in your annual report.  Photos can tell a story in an instant.  Choose photos of people participating in an activity, such as Jason and Rob in a tutoring session. 

Use colorful charts or graphs to highlight your financials. Sprinkle in quotes and short testimonials to help break up the text.  

Keep it short

Your supporters are busy people and are not going to have a lot of time to read your annual report, no matter how great is. The trend now is a four to six page document. If you are a small organization, producing a glossy 20-page annual report would not be a good use of your resources.


Keeping all this in mind, what should you include in your annual report?

Introduction
Start with a brief, friendly introduction by your Executive Director or Board Chair. Make sure it doesn’t contain jargon and it’s filled with gratitude towards your donors for their support in helping you reach your goals.

Accomplishments
The main purpose of an annual report is to highlight your accomplishments.  These accomplishments need to focus on how you are making a difference for the people you serve.  Examples would be kids receiving higher grades in school or low-income families finding affordable housing. 

Be sure to list accomplishments, not activities, and show results.

Your financials. 
Include your revenue and expenses, and break them down by department (program, administration, etc.).  Keep it simple and use a pie chart or bar graph, so it’s easy to understand.

A donor list
You may want to just include donors at a certain level in your annual report and include a list of all your donors on your website.  Whatever you decide, be sure to thank all your donors in this section.

Some final words about annual reports
You should also include a list of your staff and board, and your mailing address.

Here is a helpful resource created by Kivi Leroux Miller.  It’s an annual report wiki that includes many great examples.

Annual Reports Wiki
You don’t need to mail your annual report to all your supporters.  You may want to mail only to your major donors.  Put your annual report on your website, and let your supporters know it’s there.  You could send out a special email announcement or include something about your annual report in your newsletter.  Of course, you should make a hard copy available to anyone who wants one.  You should also have hard copies available for potential funders and other interested parties.

If you choose not to produce an annual report, you should still have a list of accomplishments readily available.  You often need these for grant proposals, anyway.  I recommend keeping a running list, so you are not scrambling to put something together when it’s time to do your annual report or a grant proposal.  This can also help you get your annual report out earlier in the New Year.

Remember your goal is to create an annual report that will capture your supporters’ attention right away and not bore them.

How to Create an Editorial Calendar

Ann Green Communications, marketing, writing

Nonprofit organizations need to communicate with donors and other supporters all year round. Does the idea of finding content to share on a regular basis stress you out?  Don’t worry, it doesn’t have to.  Not if you create an editorial calendar.  Start thinking now about creating one for 2013. 

You have many communication channels to work with. Sending out a newsletter is one way. It’s up to your organization whether to use a print or email newsletter. Other methods include email updates, your website, social media, and mailings.

As you put together your editorial calendar, think about how you will use each channel. You may only send out direct mail a few times a year, but send out a newsletter once a month and communicate by social media several times a week.

Remember, the information you share should be audience-centered and emphasize how you are making a difference for the people you serve and in the community.

Here are some categories for your editorial calendar. Some items will be time sensitive and others won’t be.

Events
Does your organization hold any events?  Besides your events, are there other events in your community that would be of interest to your supporters?  This is a great thing to share on social media.

Legislation
Advocacy alerts are a wonderful way to engage with your supporters. Be on the lookout for any federal or state legislation that’s relevant to your organization.  Encourage people to contact their legislators about an issue or a bill. Report back to them with any updates, and thank them for getting involved.   

Time of year
Is there something going on during a particular month that is pertinent to your organization?  Perhaps it’s homelessness or foster care awareness month.

Thanksgiving, the holidays, and winter can be a difficult time for some people.  How can you weave that into your work?

News stories
You won’t be able to predict news stories in advance.  However, as something newsworthy comes up, see if that is something you could share.
Fundraising and recruitment
Be sure to add your annual appeal and other fundraising drives to your editorial calendar.  You want to promote these, and at the same time not inundate your supporters with a lot of other information at that time.

If your organization has specific times it needs to recruit volunteers, add that to your editorial calendar, as well.  

Ongoing content
If you are making a difference, you have stories to tell.  Share your clients’ success stories. You could also profile a board member or volunteer.

Put together a collection of stories and profiles to use in your newsletter or website throughout the year. If you are profiling board members or volunteers, highlight what motivated them to serve on your board or volunteer with your organization.  Keep it focused on your mission.

Keep it up
As you hear about other relevant information, add it to your calendar, so you will always have good content to share with your supporters.

Here is more information to help you create an editorial calendar.
Nonprofit Marketing Guide’s Editorial Calendar Links

LightBox Collaborative’s 2013 Editorial Calendar