Nonprofit Communications

Photo by RaeA

If you’ve been waiting for me to make the recordings from the Nonprofit Marketing Guide webinar series available, wait no more. The following titles are now all available when you purchase an All-Access Pass.

For $97, you’ll get to view all of these webinars and any I add in the next twelve weeks. You also get to attend any and all live webinars I host for the next twelve weeks, at no additional charge.

Nonprofit Storytelling: How to Write Your Nonprofit’s Best Stories
Recorded May 14, 2008.

How to Connect with Generation Y
Recorded May 7, 2008. Featuring Sam Davidson.

What Do Baby Boomer Donors Want from Your Nonprofit?
Recorded May 1, 2008. Featuring Jeff Brooks.

Online Writing: Dos and Don’ts of Writing for the Web and Email
Recorded April 24, 2008.

How to Write a Press Release Reporters Will Love
Recorded April 17, 2008. Featuring Claire Meyerhoff.

Branding for Nonprofits: What Is It and Should You Do It?
Recorded April 10, 2008. Audio only, featuring Nancy Schwartz.

Converting Your Print Newsletter into an Email Newsletter
Recorded March 20, 2008.

How to Write a Four-Page Nonprofit Annual Report
Recorded March 13, 2008.

Can We Find You on Google? Keywords and Search Engine Optimization for Nonprofits
Featuring David Westbrook. Recorded March 6, 2008.

How to Make Your Nonprofit Brochures Pop! - The Crash Course
Recorded February 27, 2008.

What Should We Write About? Storytelling Ideas for Nonprofits
Recorded February 13, 2008.

Getting Reporters to Cover Your Nonprofit: Tell Your Story So They’ll Tell It Too
Recorded February 6, 2008. Audio only, featuring Claire Meyerhoff.

Yes, it’s a ton of great training at a very reasonable price. Ready to get your pass? Register now.

“Do we really have to include the letter from the executive director/CEO/president in our newsletter?”

“Do we really have to include an executive message in our annual report?”

Nonprofit staff ask me these questions with the same look on their faces that a child has when she asks, “Do I really have to eat this broccoli?”

That’s because they are equally bland and mushy, and while everything else on the plate (or pages) may be great, you’d rather just pretend that overcooked broccoli (or letters) didn’t exist.

Here’s my order of preference for solving this problem:

(1) Drop it. No one will miss it.

This is definitely true in a newsletter. I think you can argue the case that an annual report is better with a personal message from the director, but only if it’s good. In my “How to Write a Four-Page Annual Report” webinar on Thursday, I’ll recommend either dropping it entirely or cutting it back to less than a third of a page. It’s just not that important compared to some other annual report must-haves.

(2) If you must keep it, move it.

When these letters are really bad, nonprofits seem to always make it worse by putting them on the cover of the newsletter. Move it to less valuable real estate (like the lower half of an interior page). After all, the Op-Ed page in a newspaper is in the middle, not on the cover. For an annual report, it really does need to be near the front. It doesn’t need to take up a whole page, however.

(3) If at all possible, give it a serious makeover.

The letter should serve a purpose other than executive director ego stroking. You should treat it just like any other article in your newsletter. What’s the message? Why do the readers care? How does the letter make your supporters feel good about themselves and your organization? The contents of the letter should be debated just like the rest of the editorial calendar. For annual reports, either use the letter as a personalized executive summary or as an extra helping of thanks to your supporters with a brief preview of good things to come.

I recently asked this question in a different way on the Nonprofit section of LinkedIn Answers. The sum advice from all the responses was this:

Keep it short.

Focus on accomplishments.

Thank your supporters.

My annual reports e-book tells you everything you need to know to write a traditional nonprofit annual report, whether it’s 8 pages or 20. But it doesn’t help you figure out a way to keep it really short and tight.

That’s why I am hosting a webinar next Thursday (March 13, 2008, 3:00 pm ET) called How to Write a Four-Page Nonprofit Annual Report. I’ll explain exactly how to go about highlighting your accomplishments and thanking your supporters all in an easy-to-read and easy-to-produce four-page format that any nonprofit can pull off.

And yes, for everyone who has ever asked me for a template and have been disappointed when I said, “I don’t do templates” — I’ll give you a template. Everyone registered for the webinar will get two pdfs that block out what can go where. They won’t be filled with text or photos or charts — that’s your job. But they will give you a headstart on figuring out how much you need to write about what and where to put it.

Get the webinar details and register.

What’s your take on how long a nonprofit annual report should be? Leave a comment and share your perspective as either a donor or a nonprofit or both.

P.S. Have you told me which webinar topics you prefer for this summer? Take the short survey now. I’m going to keep bugging you dear blog readers with this reminder until I have at least 100 responses. Right now, I’ve got 40. Thank you!

Using stories in your nonprofit annual report is a great way to bring to life what might otherwise be some stiff writing on your activities and accomplishments. But simply throwing some stories into the text won’t do. You need to be very focused and highly selective about which stories you use and how you tell them in your annual report. Here are my top five tips for using stories in annual reports. For more advice on annual reports, register for my webinar on Thursday, “Writing Your 2007 Nonprofit Annual Report - A Crash Course.”

Make the Story Immediately Relevant. A touching story about a little girl’s struggle to overcome a rare disease is heart-warming, but it’s nothing more than that if I don’t understand how this child is connected to your organization and specifically to the accomplishments. I’m reading your annual report to understand what you achieved last year. That little girl’s story needs to help me understand what your organization did. Ideally by the end of the first paragraph, and definitely by the end of the second, make it clear to me the role your organization played in helping this child. It’s what journalists call the “nut graph.”

Put Stories in Context. Stories about a single person are great for many reasons, but we also need to understand the larger context. How many other children have been helped by your support program, beyond the one you are telling us about in detail?

Cut the Fluffy Details. If you spend an hour interviewing someone, it can be really tough to hone in on which details matter most. But you need to include only the details that support why you are telling this particular story in the first place. We do not need a life history. We don’t need to know about all the other players in the story. Look at every detail and quote you provide and ask yourself if it reinforces or detracts from that nut graph.

Keep It Short. Let’s face it — people are more likely to skim your report than to read it, which means short, tight writing is much better than long essays. It’s also very unlikely that each story you tell is going to connect with all of your readers in the same way. That’s why I would rather spend 200 words on one person, 200 on another, and 100 words pulling it all together in a 500-word section than spending the whole 500 words talking about one person.

Let the Subject Approve the Copy. You are telling someone’s personal story as a way to promote your organization’s accomplishments. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long as the person agrees that you played the role you say you did. By allowing the story’s subject to approve the final copy, you ensure that both your organization and the individual will stand behind the claims you are making about your successes.

I’ll keep my eyes open for good storytelling in annual reports and let you know when I see some strong examples. If you find some, please share by leaving a comment on this post.

If you missed my free webinar today on “Getting Ready to Write Your 2007 Annual Report,” you can now view the 37-minute recording online at no charge. Here is the registration page.

It covers what information you need to be gathering now, what decisions you should make before the end of your fiscal year, and what you can put off for a few months. Today’s participants also asked some great questions, so even if you don’t sit and watch the video (although I do have some fun slides), it’s worth listening to while you putter around in your office with other tasks.

Here are a few comments from today’s participants:

“Great webinar… Clear and relevant.”

“Good, clear, high-level content.”

“I found the seminar very helpful - it confirmed for me that we are on the right track with our approach . . . Thank you so much for your time and insight.”

“Thank you - this was very informative.”

“I found the information and the Q&A session extremely helpful.”

I’m hosting another free webinar: Getting Ready to Write Your 2007 Annual Report.

As the end of 2007 draws near, nonprofits need to begin thinking about their annual reports for the year.

– What information do you need to compile?
– What decisions should you be making right now?
– What can you put off for a few more months?
– Do you really need an annual report?

Get the answers to all of these questions and more during this free webinar on Wednesday, November 28 at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (that’s Noon Central, 11:00 a.m. Mountain, and 10:00 a.m. Pacific). Register Now.

If you are a regular reader, you know that I hosted a free webinar on brochures last month using GotoWebinar. This time I’m trying ReadyTalk. I’ll report back a comparison of the two services after this annual reports webinar for any of you who may be considering a cost-effective webinar solution for your organization.

Independent Sector has just released Principles for Good Governance and Ethical Practice, after three years of discussion on the best ways to encourage self-governance and self-regulation in the nonprofit sector. If you receive any foundation funding, you can bet that those funders will insist you adopt these practices and work toward their full implementation.

Several of the 33 principles included in the guide relate directly to your communications and marketing work. I’ve copied those below and added my comments in parentheses. You’ll note that several of these are similar to the principles I highlighted earlier this month from the NC Center for Nonprofits, which other state associations also advocate.

“7. A charitable organization should make information about its operations, including its governance, finances, programs and activities, widely available to the public. Charitable organizations also should consider making information available on the methods they use to evaluate the outcomes of their work and sharing the results of those evaluations.”

(The report specifically mentions nonprofit annual reports and nonprofit websites as two ways to implement this principle.)

“11. The board of a charitable organization should include members with the diverse background (including, but not limited to, ethnic, racial and gender perspectives), experience, and organizational and financial skills necessary to advance the organization’s mission.

(The report mentions that many nonprofits strive to include someone on their board with “public relations and marketing” experience.)

“27. Solicitation materials and other communications addressed to donors and the public must clearly identify the organization and be accurate and truthful.”

(I found this statement particularly interesting: “Descriptions of program activities and the financial condition of the organization must be current and accurate, and any references to past activities or events should be dated appropriately.” Too many nonprofits rely on really old accomplishments in their fundraising and outreach materials and this clearly discourages that kind of behavior.)

“28. Contributions must be used for purposes consistent with the donor’s intent, whether as described in the relevant solicitation materials or as specifically directed by the donor.”

(I also found this one interesting, because many nonprofit communicators focus on one particular project in their materials, but funds raised with those materials are often put into the general operating fund. You’ll need to carefully word your solicitations and supporting materials to comply with this one.)

“29. A charitable organization must provide donors with specific acknowledgments of charitable contributions, in accordance with IRS requirements, as well as information to facilitate the donors’ compliance with tax law requirements.”

(Yes! Someone is finally requiring a thank-you note to donors! The report also adds: “Regular updates to donors on the
activities they support is another way to build trust and loyalty.” Right on.)

“33. A charitable organization should respect the privacy of individual donors and, except where disclosure is required by law, should not sell or otherwise make available the names and contact information of its donors without providing them an opportunity at least once a year to opt out of the use of their names.”

(This is why nonprofits should be using an automated email delivery service — my favorite is iContact — and not Outlook or other personal email programs, to send email newsletters and blasts.)

As I continue to write about best practices on this blog, I’ll try to remember to link them back to these principles where relevant, so you can use them to help justify your work to the higher-ups.

Feedback on the annual reports e-book I released in August has been great. Here are a few of the comments I’ve received in the last month from people who have purchased “How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report.”

“I found your book to be a tremendous help. Each year I have the challenge of producing an annual report that is comparable to the annual reports of other local non-profits, which are professionally done (slick paper, lots of photos, etc.). Because we choose to channel the majority of our funds to our programs, the annual report is done as inexpensively as possible. “How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report” is helping me make this year’s report look and sound better than it ever has.” ~ Judi Early, Evansville Goodwill Industries, Inc.

“A step by step how-to for an important publication for my organization.” ~ Kathy Power, Cambridge Cares About AIDS

“Everything you need to know to design your annual report.” ~ Mindy Knappenberger, Armstrong County Community Foundation

And here are a few more comments from people who wished to remain anonymous:

“A very succinct look at annual reports for the nonprofit sector. A well-structured resource with excellent writing tips and good suggestions for incorporating “themes” and other ideas.” ~ J.H.

“Very easy-to-understand and well-written.” ~ J.C.

Congrats to Kelly Collins of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence for winning this month’s drawing for an e-book refund. When you purchase the “How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report” e-book, you’ll receive a link to a short survey about the book. Everyone who responds is entered into a monthly drawing to get the purchase price fully refunded. (My four-year-old picks the record number, so your chances of winning have absolutely nothing to do with your comments on the survey!)
You can get your copy of “How to Write a Nonprofit Annual Report” for $29.99 and then enter the drawing for the refund.