Going through the mail today I found a print newsletter from an organization that does great work in our community.  The newsletter is attractive, two color, well organized and efficiently packaged in a self-mailer format.  However, it is nine pages long (8 1/2 X 11 inch size pages) with about size 10 Times New Roman print. 

I've been collecting print newsletters as a part of my research into nonprofit needs and practices.  This one, like many others, raises many questions for me.

--  Who do they think is going to read NINE pages of print?
--  Who are they are talking to?  The key audiences for this publication are not clear to me, nor is it evident why I am getting it (I am not a donor or a volunteer). Not even the article headings help me figure this out (and there are NO subheadings to direct my attention, even in the longer articles).
--  They invite readers to go to their web site. So I did that, but they offer no way for me to connect with them (other than a listing of staff email addresses).  What a missed opportunity.

Nonprofits would do well to spend time figuring out who their key audiences are and then target their publications toward them.  This organization relies heavily on volunteers, so there is a lot of emphasis on that in the newsletter  Great.  If this is a volunteer newsletter, then it's a good start, but with some missed opportunities. There is quite a bit of legislative news (as this organization lives or dies by this), so perhaps this is meant to get people to take action.  If so, the call to action is pretty buried (and could be better carried out by email action alerts to interested advocates).  They also list donors for the last quarter and invite families to a family-fun day.  So is this a donor newsletter?  If so, most of it is too much 'inside news' and not enough donor engagement.  

Nonprofits I speak with often say that their audiences are just too broad and their communications resources so limited,  they just try to reach everyone with each publication. This thinking misses the chance to focus key messages and really connect well with some key group.   And, even with a focused message, others benefit from the trickle down effect of the information. 

In my case, I open the newsletter, scan it quickly and put it in the trash. Nothing attracts me particularly and I come away with no message other than the fact that this organization is still alive and well (and there is some benefit in that).  Their volunteers may read a bit more and donors might scan the list to find their names, but I wonder if their families and activitists find the appropriate activities buried inside.

This is an organization crying out for targeted e-communications.  I went to their website and there is NO way to connect electronically.  What missed opportunities!