Dear “Designing” Colleague,

This is our one year anniversary for On-the-Go eTA and you will see we are wearing a new look with new colors. To celebrate, this issue of On-the-Go eTA is full of ideas about creating those vehicles for communication that require new design and writing skills. Learn how to

Create a Brochure

Publish a Newsletter

Design a Website

Do you have questions about designing
publications and websites? Contact us through LEADline@CampaignConsultation.com.
Access previous issues of On-the-Go eTA by clicking on the title at the right.

Create a Brochure

A brochure is used to represent your organization and get the word out about your programs and your good work to a great many people. Careful thought and planning is important before your start creating your brochure because it has a big impact on how your organization is viewed. There are a number of considerations to be made before you start.

Click here for more tips and ideas for creating a brochure.

Publish a Newsletter

Much of what you know about creating a brochure also applies to publishing a newsletter. You still need to identify your audience and provide articles they will want to read. Pay careful attention to the design elements—layout, typestyles, color, whitespace, uncluttered pictures and graphics, and of course--proofreading. However, there are some special considerations to keep in mind when publishing newsletters that distinguish them from other forms of nonprofit writing.

A newsletter should be published on a regular schedule, not just when you have time to prepare it and send it out. Consistency is important in timing. Decide if you want to send out a monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly or seasonal newsletter and keep the schedule.

You also need to be consistent with your design from one issue to the next. Create a template with a heading and use the same number of columns and the same type style from one issue to the next. Consistency of material is also important. You may want to include a list of resources with every newsletter, or have a regularly featured article written by a topic expert or community leader. As your program matures, it’s alright to update your newsletter, but make the change at the beginning of a new year, and don’t do it every year.

Give your newsletter a title that is meaningful to your organization’s mission or that capitalizes on an important aspect of your organization. Keep the title short, concise and memorable. Use your organization’s name as a subtitle, ex. On-the-Go eTA, a service of the Corporation for National and Community Service.

Date your newsletter to reflect when readers will receive it, not when you start writing it. If you start writing it in March, but it won’t get into reader’s hands until June, then it is the June issue.

Keep track of editions by using volume and issue numbers. The volume number will be consistent with the year of publication and will remain the same for the entire year. The issue number depends upon the number of issues you produce during the year. For example, Volume II, issue 3 will be the third issue of the second year of publication.

One issue of your newsletter could serve as an annual report. Click here to download “10 Tips for Writing a Great Annual Report” by Kivi Leroux Miller for About, Inc.

Design a Website

The actual design and creation of a website is possible in-house if you have a tech-savvy staff member or volunteer. As in your other forms of communication, always consider your audience before your begin and take a look at other websites to get ideas. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind when designing your website:

1. Make navigation obvious. Use header and side navigation that will work together and make navigation consistent. Indicate where links are desired. Include a “back” button. Include a site map.
   
2. Don’t try to pack everything onto your homepage. Use it as an overview with links to important information.
   
3. Write for your audience. Keep content short. Readers skim web pages, they don’t read for depth.
   
4. Make your design consistent with your printed materials. Place your website address on all your publications.
   
5. Use charts and photos to create interest. Avoid big graphics as they take longer to load and can become annoying to viewers who visit your site on a regular basis. Be consistent in your design from page to page.
   
6. Keep your pages uncluttered. Avoid use of condensed or decorative typefaces. Use upper and lower case letters for body copy instead of all capitals. Use a reasonably large typeface. Avoid busy backgrounds and consider your color choices for ease in readability on the screen.
   
7. Consider how you will include an opportunity for making a donation. If you want to make online donations by credit card possible, you will need to work with your bank.
   
8. Include a “Contact Us” section with your postal address and phone numbers. Include information on how to contact important staff members—include email links.
   
9. Post your newsletter on your website. Include a “print view” option.
   
10. Update your website regularly.

Let us know

Do you have insights to share about brochures, newsletters and websites?

Contact us at LEADline@CampaignConsultation.com
(LEADline is sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service through its Resource & Fund Development Initiative.) We would be happy to answer questions or to give you more support.

Thank you for your interest in On-The-Go eTA. We encourage you to send this and other issues of OTG eTA to friends and colleagues who would benefit from the information. Also, if you’re on information-overload, you may request email removal. Otherwise OTG e-TA will be back soon with another edition.

IN THIS ISSUE:
click on titles below to read full articles

Details from above:

Tips and Ideas for Creating a Brochure:

• Collect brochures from other programs and organizations. They can provide you with ideas you can adapt for your own purposes.
  
• Seriously consider using a professional designer, writer and printer if you can afford it. You want this document to represent your organization well in the strongest possible light.
  
• If you are publishing in-house, there are software programs that provide templates & clip art such as Microsoft Publisher.
  
• Just like a proposal or a letter, a brochure should have a beginning, middle and end. Your front cover will be read first, and then your back cover next. If you are using a three-fold format, most information will be on the inside. You want people to open the brochure, so the front and back must be inviting.
  
• Limit your fonts, colors and styles, but you can use bold and italics for variety.
  
• Adding more color increases the cost. You can use paper as a color to keep the cost down.
  
• Will your brochure be a self-mailer or will it fit in an envelope? If your brochure is to be used for fundraising, you will want to design a response device that works well with the design.
  
• Photos, charts & graphs, and line drawings add visual interest when they are clear and do not contain too many elements.
  
• Keep text simple and short for easy readability.
  
• Proofread, proofread, proofread.
  
• Store copies in a clean, dry place.

Resources

The National ASK (Awareness, Skills, Knowledge) to Sustain Institute, sponsored by Corporation for National and Community Service, provided by Campaign Consultation, Inc. 1998, 2002

The CNCS Resources Now! National Institute, sponsored by Corporation for National and Community Service, provided by Campaign Consultation, Inc. 2005-07.

Learning Products and Services

LEADline:
(Learning Experiences At a Distance) LEADline is designed to give information fast. Have a resource & fund development question? Use LEADline and within 24 hours you will receive response and advice from a fundraising professional.

Contact us
LEADline@CampaignConsultation.com

GIZMOs:
(Giving Information for Zooming Money Objectives) Gizmos are resource and fund development tools for you and your volunteers. They are tangible products in packets, pocket brochures, CD-Roms, games, etc. They feature a myriad of fundraising topics such as The Power of Direct Mail, an interactive cd-rom and detailed companion booklet on developing your direct mail program.

To order, contact us through
LEADline@CampaignConsultation.com
or call 410.243.7979
or toll free at 1.877.243.2253

For more information:

Download
Gizmo Presentation

Download
Order Form

The Chronicle of Philanthropy:
Everyone who comes to a Resources Now! National Institute gets a free subscription to the Chronicle for a year. Participants in CNCS Campaign Consultation workshops receive the latest issue free of charge plus a $20 discount on one year’s subscription.

Workshops/Clinics:
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), through its T/TA service provider Campaign Consultation, Inc., offers a three-hour workshops and clinics for those interested in mastering key skills need to write for individual donors.

Online Courses/Webinars:
Web course delivery of topics pertinent to resource development such as — Build Fundraising Volunteer Champions and Cause Related Marketing and Corporate Partnerships.

Available through the Resource Center, Click Here

Tell Us!

Let us know by contacting us through LEADline@CampaignConsultation.com

Read Back Issues of OTG e-TA

• Mid-May 2007 Women as Donors
  
• May 2007 Postage and Mailing Rates
  
• Mid-April 2007 Phonathons and Thankathons
  
• April 2007 Annual Fund Mailing Lists
  
• Mid-March 2007 Face-to-Face Asking
  
• March 2007 Government Funding
  
• Mid-February 2007 Rural Fundraising
  
• February 2007 Stop-gap Funding
  
• Mid-January 2007 Nonprofit Branding
  

  2006 Archives