15: On Content and Partnership
Dear NGO Founder,
I was glad to receive feedback concerning last week's letter and exercise. If you haven't taken time to go through the document, this is a not so subtle reminder to do so.Today, we're looking at letters, one-page sites, and websites. Today's letter is the last on content.
Starting with letters, NGOs are always writing letters; for partnerships, permission, or guests invite. Different shades of formal letters. My focus is on the content of the letters, but pay attention to important things like addresses, grammar, salutations, tone, date, and signature. If you need help with letter form, you can always search online for templates.
Back to our focus on substance. I have read quite a number of letters and I have noticed the excess use of jargon and complicated words. I read a letter one time and I did not understand what the person wanted. Let me start by saying this, simple and clear language is the hallmark of formal communication. The goal is to be clearly understood. I doubt any busy person has the time to consult the dictionary to understand a letter. And it would be to your disadvantage if the complicated words were wrongly used.
What else should you not do? Do not spend several sentences introducing your organisation. You have at most three or four paragraphs for the entire letter (one or two pages). Describe your organisation, her vision, mission, and other necessary information as concise as possible. You can draft a letter template ahead for various purposes. The introductory paragraph describing your organisation will likely remain constant, while you edit the body from time to time. But if you want to take it up a notch, you can vary your introduction. I will explain what I mean.
The organisation I used to volunteer for, introduced herself in the following ways:
If the recipient was a brand like Zikoko, that is all about young people, and we want to communicate a proposed partnership that aligns with their brand and would be of benefit to them. The introduction would be:
“We are a youth-led organisation with a volunteer base of over 500 youths passionate about social impact…….."
If it's an organisation interested in nation-building:
“We are a charitable organisation established by a group of young Nigerians…"
Both introductions are true. Please don't include false information or untrue claims in your letters. If your organisation has been around for a while, you should state the year of establishment. If you have data, like the number of beneficiaries or communities impacted, you should also include that to demonstrate track-record. Don't forget to state your vision and mission, it could inform their opinion on alignment or otherwise.
What next? Let’s presume you titled your letter -“Request for a Strategic Partnership,” you need to give specific details. If it's a project, state the goals and objectives. Highlight the proposed date and time. Mention the project activities and project duration. State why your request is directed at them and how it benefits them. State what you need from them. Don't forget to include reachable contact information for further discussions. Lastly, proofread the letter.
Quick tip
Don't wait till they ask for more information before you draft a comprehensive and presentable budget. If you can design a proposal, do so ahead of time.
Sites
A website is one of those things that is good to have. Not an abandoned website, a website that can be easily navigated and contains up to date information. It's your organisation's digital CV. A donor or partner can easily go through it to find out information they need. I know not everyone can afford to pay a website designer, thankfully there are softwares that allow you to build a website without any technical skill, some free, and others at a little cost. There are also alternatives like a disha one-page site, mainstack, and Linktree.
In today's world, a one-page site is a must have. There's so much information that needs to be easily accessible, for the benefit of your organisation. A one-page site can hold a volunteer sign-up link, link to a donating platform like Gofundme or donate.ng, links to your email and social media platforms, a video about your organisation, and featured articles. There's rarely a human that doesn't like ease, you should make it easy for people to find necessary information about your organisation.
If you have a website and you haven't done much with it, here are things to update:
Your landing page: This is where your vision, mission, organisation’s description, and pictures come to play. A group picture of all/some volunteers. It could also have a calendar or countdown of your next project.
Don't leave your ‘contact us’ page blank: Insert the link of your mail for ease of communication. Links to your social media platforms; and a sign-up form for prospective volunteers.
Founder's page: This is where you tell a compelling story, it could be written or a video. If written, a clear portrait of you is important. If you can't go to a studio, look for a good background, wear your organisation's shirt, good lighting, and take one. Talk about your values, your journey, and your why.
Volunteers’ page: It might be hard to update this every time for every single volunteer. If you have a leadership or executive structure, you can share their information here.
Impact Record: Record data at the end of each project for this section. You can use images (flyers) or upload documents, “Projects for Q1: Total amount raised, project breakdown, and number of beneficiaries.” This will foster transparency.
Gallery: Pictures from your various projects in categories.
Articles: This section is optional. The articles can be project recaps or topics central to your vision. E.g, How our project blue at Okoko went, Why sickle cell warriors in underserved communities are at risk. You can always delegate the writing to your volunteers.
A donation page: This is where you say “Do you want to support our cause?.....'' Then attach links to donation platforms like donate.ng, Pillr, Gofundme, a payment infrastructure like flutterwave, or your organisation's account details.
Dear NGO Founder, today's letter is a record breaker - the lengthiest DNF newsletter. I hope you weren't overwhelmed. See you in two weeks with our usual length.
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