SCNA "newsletter" or ... (fwd)

[Marcia Bender]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 22 Apr 1997 21:33:47 -0700 (PDT)
From: Marcia Bender <marcia at scn.org>
To: Doug Schuler <douglas at scn.org>
Cc: fundraising at scn.org, outreach at scn.org, scna at scn.org
Subject: Re: SCNA "newsletter" or ...  

Hi all,
Some comments and answers below.

On Tue, 22 Apr 1997, Doug Schuler wrote:

> 
> I recently received a note from Marcia stating that the fundraising
> subcommittee decided not to include a "newsletter" in the fundraising
> appeal.  Although I have much respect for the fundraising
> subcommittee's efforts I feel obligated to point out that they are not
> independent (nor is any committee) of the rest of the organization.  In
> other words, I trust that fundraising will consult with the board on
> their plans for a funding appeal and coordinate activities and actions
> as necessary.

Very true! I hope that the board will develop some guidelines for the
various committee to get the work done.

In the mean time, regarding this specific task, our plan is to get
board's approval before the mailing of the 1997-98 annual appeal.
 
Here is the timeline: Rough Draft will be completed by April 30.  The
mailing happens on June 1 (as directed by the board).  In between
these dates are the Planning Committee for public comments and the board
meeting for approval.  Please send mail to me (marcia at scn.org) if you
would like to have the other milestones of this process which are not
mentioned here or if you are interested in more details in general.

> 
> Unfortunately we on the SCNA have not devoted the necessary attention
> to what I consider one of the most critical duties of running a membership
> organization:
> regular communication with the membership.  I have looked at several
> books on running a membership organization and this also meshes with my
> experience and thoughts: a newsletter (hopefully periodic) is an
> absolute requirement.  A newsletter is the primary means to communicate
> with ALL members.  It is seen as an indispensible tool for
> communication and also for fundraising and outreach.
> 
> So, what are we to do in this regard?  I see several choices.
> 
> ___ Send out a short "status report", "update", or what-have-you in
> advance of the fundraising report.  This would not be a "newsletter"
> per se but would fulfill the same functions.
> 
> ___ Include the above-mentioned report or update *with* the fundraising
> appeal.  (This may run contrary to the decision of the fundraising
> group.)
> 
> ___  Initiate a "real" newsletter which goes out to the membership on a
> regular basis.
> 
> ____ Send out an electronic newsletter to SCNA members.

This option was the one embraced by the Fundraising Committee
Annual Appeal Working Group.  

Also, I believe that the topic editors are working out some ways to
do newsletter articles.  It seems like we just need a newsletter editor
to bring it all together and some leadership from the board to make this
happen.
> 
> 
> ____ Other.  Explain ___________________________________
> 
> 
> ___ No newsletter.
> 
> 
> 
> I did not include a web page or opening screen message because these
> methods are, in my opinion, unlikely to reach all or, even, a majority
> of our members.
> 
> 
> Please let me know what you think.  I'm willing to play a role in
> whatever we do but IF this is to be coordinated at all with the
> fundraising appeal (which I think it should) then we need to decide on
> this soon.

The working group of the fund. cmtee felt that nothing less than a true
electronic newsletter would do for our organization.

We also decided that to keep the annual appeal as simple and
straigtforward as possible would be best. 
We have designed a very nice brochure.

--Marcia


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