Case Study: Creating continual donor-centric content

Meet the Client

For almost 50 years, Nellie’s shelter in Toronto’s east-end has been supporting women and their children as they take the brave steps towards accomplishing the next chapter in their lives. So much more than a bed, Nellie’s stands alongside the women and their children who need them, providing counselling, children’s programming, safety planning, outreach services, violence against women workshops, and more, both in the shelter building itself and through their Community Support and Outreach office.

We were referred to Nellie’s in 2018 and were hired to write a single impact story about their children’s program as part of a report to the program’s funder. Because we could not directly tell a child’s story (for privacy reasons), we instead interviewed the program coordinator, using her perspective to write an article that focused on the kids and the positive effects the program had on them and their development, as well as the positive ways the program helped them process the traumas they experienced. The article was well-received and we continued to write occasional pieces for Nellie’s, including parts of their 2018 annual report. 

The Client’s Challenge

In 2019, Nellie’s wanted to use our content creation support in a more strategic and regular way. They recognized the importance and value of producing regular donor communications, but lacked the internal capacity to maintain a steady writing and publishing schedule. Rather than send out quarterly newsletters to donors, they wanted to regularly publish news, and information to showcase impact on their website. They would then repurpose some of these pieces, as needed. 

Our Solution

We proposed a blogging package where we would create quarterly content calendars for them and write two articles per month for publication on their website. Articles would focus on a variety of topics, such as program details to showcase the work they do with women and their children, profiles of staff or volunteers to pull back the curtain on the organization, client success stories to show impact, thank you to donors (when appropriate), and quarterly letters from the Executive Director. For each article we would first interview a designated person or expert before writing and submitting a draft. 

Every month, we delivered two articles. From there, Nellie’s would publish them on their website as well as promote them on their Social Media channels to boost engagement and further their reach with donors and potential donors. Nellie’s also repurposed some of the articles with graphic design elements in order to email them to specific donors or funders, or to raise money for their capital campaign. Stories were also sometimes re-used in their impact report or annual report, for which we wrote additional pieces. 

As of early 2021, we have been writing consistently for Nellie’s for two years. This seamless monthly process requires little effort on Nellie’s part—we brainstorm editorial calendar topic ideas for approval, we conduct all the interviews with key sources, and we provide two draft articles (plus revisions) every month. 

Having access to regular content has meant that Nellie’s is continually able to showcase impact and need to donors. With our support, Nellie’s has exceeded their fundraising goals two years in a row. 

Testimonial

“Our website is the first place many of our donors go to learn about us and the impact they have on the women and their children who need us. The stories drive people to donate, ask about our programs and spearhead community events. For an agency with limited resources and staff, working with Luminate Communications to write website blogs has been one of our best fundraising tools. They continuously deliver quality content that we are proud to stand behind.”

Ingrid Graham
Director of Development