There’s one thing far too many nonprofits forget to share in their newsletters. Between upcoming events, calls for donations, new campaigns, volunteer opportunities, and reports…nonprofit newsletters rarely struggle to come up with content ideas. 

But, there’s one piece that often falls to the side, and that’s what separates a decent newsletter from a great one. In fact, if your newsletter focuses on only this (and shares nothing else), you’ll likely get far more support than if you just share a long list of upcoming events and announcements. 

The Top Nonprofit Newsletter Content Idea Often Forgotten

Make sure, in your nonprofit newsletters, you’re not forgetting to share what you’re accomplishing with your donations. You can ask for donations every day, but if your potential donors don’t understand what their financial contribution does, they won’t give. 

This sounds so obvious at first, but how many emails get sent out with news of upcoming events, maybe a spotlight on a coach or volunteer, reminders to donate…but nothing about who you’ve helped? 

Maybe you don’t think it’s always newsworthy to share how many families received meals from your last food drive, how many students that you coached got into colleges they wanted, or a particular story of a girl you helped get a wheelchair a few weeks ago… But that’s what your donors want to hear! To you, these are your normal, everyday operations, it’s what you do. But your donors don’t know about it all unless you share it. Don’t let them forget how much of an impact you’re really making! 

Each newsletter that skips over the impact a donation makes is lost revenue for your nonprofit. 

2 Essential Components to Sharing a Donation’s Impact 

There are two key parts to effectively and ethically sharing the impact your donations have. 

First (and most important!), beneficiary stories should only be shared with informed consent.

Stories are a powerful tool for showing the impact your organization is making, and emails are a great place to share them! But if you’re “stealing” stories from those you help, without their consent, it’s not ethical. Make sure your beneficiaries are either entirely anonymous (with absolutely no identifying details given) or, better yet, fully aware of when and how their story will be shared. 

Asking for stories to use for nonprofit newsletter content is also a lovely opportunity to connect with those you help, and hear about your organization’s impact directly from them! 

Second, when sharing the story, you should always link it with a donation amount that made this possible. You need to convince someone that if they give x amount, they will create a new story like the one they just read. 

Make sure to share your victories!

This Top Nonprofit Newsletter Content Idea in Action

With 15 years of copywriting experience, effective emails are a knack of ours! So, read these examples for some inspiration — but note that one is better than the other! Which would you feel more compelled to give to? 

Example 1: A donation of $20 will buy a water filter for families in Congo, so they can stay safely hydrated. A donation of $50 will provide a new tent, giving shelter to a family of four. There are many children and families in need of your support on the war-torn side of Eastern DR Congo, so give here today!

Example 2: One of the mothers we worked with in our clean water program showed us how big of an impact these water filters make. In the midst of a refugee encampment, she had been trying to breastfeed her newborn twins, but couldn’t produce enough milk because she had to choose between total dehydration or unsafe drinking water making her sick. When her family was given one of our water filters, her ability to breastfeed came back and now her sons are lively one-year-olds! Give just $20 here and help support more families like this. 

Example #2 shares a persuasive, emotional story. If you can reach into the hearts of prospective donors, they will give. The mind is what budgets and keeps our wallets locked down, so sharing facts isn’t enough. With a story, they can picture how their single transaction will repeat the same beautiful impact you’re sharing!

Final Tips on Utilizing Stories in Your Nonprofit Newsletter Content

Tip 1: Have a clear call to action following the story

Telling a story is great, but don’t forget a follow-up that asks your potential donors to take action. And make sure there’s a direct link to give! The more work involved in the process of donating, such as needing to hunt down your donation page, the more people will pass up on contributing at all. 

Tip 2: Use stories your ideal donors will respond to

Don’t just use any story. Think about who your most responsive donors are and what compels them to get involved. Then, share a story that will reach their hearts. This inspires new ideal donors! (P.S. Struggling to identify your ideal donor? We can help with that here.)

Tip 3: Focus more on the emotions, than on the logistics of what happened

Straight facts don’t sell well. Instead, share a story first so people have an emotional connection to who your nonprofit is helping. Then add a fact about how many other people need assistance like that. Finally, follow up with a call for them to contribute. 

Stories like this reassure potential supporters that you’re doing good work, and remind them of your direct impact. This also reaffirms the impact they have when they donate, encouraging them to keep coming back in the future. ❤️

How to Get Constant Donations From Your Nonprofit’s Emails

What if you could get new donors consistently, just from your email list? That’s the power of email automation! Ideally, your nonprofit should have a sequence of 5 or more emails that introduce new contacts to your organization. This includes what you do, the impact stories you have, and how to get involved. 

Instead of potential donors having up to 4 weeks (or more!) to forget about your nonprofit before they get your next newsletter, an automated sequence reaches them when they’re already ready to support.

And no worries, we can handle it all for you—so your organization can just revel in the extra support! We’ll help with ideal donor strategy, copywriting, the tech side of automation, and a lead magnet to increase email list subscribers. We’ll also share our free PDF on how to DIY a single welcome email after the call. Get started here.