We welcome Minnesota Public Radio to our client family! MPR is one of the nation’s premier public radio networks producing programming for radio, Internet and face-to-face audiences. With its three services — News & Information Service, Classical Music Service and The Current — operating a 40-station regional radio network and serving a regional population of 5 million people, MPR has 110,825 members and more than 900,000 listeners each week, the largest audience of any regional public radio network.

The donor newsletter is one of the most effective fundraising tools in the nonprofit arsenal. It is also often one of the most neglected. A low-cost newsletter audit can identify the strengths, weaknesses, and needed content enhancements to better connect with donors and see enhanced fundraising outcomes. Also, given burdensome printing costs, many nonprofit managers wonder if it’s suitable to just post PDF newsletters and annuals on the website, without incurring all those printing and fulfillment costs. In our view, we are not at that point yet. Donors like to have something in their hands to read and review, away from the screen. Also ‘read rates’ are better with a 3D document. It may well be a generation before we fully move to the digital platform for all publications. In the meantime, consider seeking donor or vendor support for assistance with printing costs. A print newsletter – when effectively written and designed well – is still a great fundraising tool. And after these publications are printed, DO post PDFs on your website, too.

You see QR codes everywhere now, on products, posters, print ads. One of the most important things to remember about using QR codes effectively is to make sure there’s something special in it for whomever is scanning the code. In my opinion just linking through to a static website or a Facebook page isn’t enough. Use this tool for special QR code-only offers, unique content, or event announcements are where the value of QR code placement shines. QR codes are a great way to track your offline marketing efforts. If your non-profit organization is trying QR codes, I’d love to hear about your experience!

The Women’s Foundation of Minnesota has launched a campaign to end the sex trafficking of underage girls in Minnesota.

Here’s the video we produced after the foundation’s 2011 conference.

http://www.mngirlsnotforsale.org/

We’re doing a lot of re-tweaking of strategic plans, given the current fundraising landscape.  We can maximize your opportunities for exposure and strengthening of the donor relationships.

And don’t forget your social media.  Content marketing has redefined communications.  Everyone is a publisher now, so let’s put that to work for you.