Here's How to Inform & Inspire in a Single Page -- Case Study, United Way Mass Bay & Merrimack Vallley

All this talk about fact sheets (strong models of nonprofit fact sheets here and here) motivated Meghan Keaney, communications director at the United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, to share her fact sheet strategy:

We have often struggled with the challenge of informing and inspiring in one sheet.  Our solution is to marry a fact sheet (one side) with a  success story (the other side).  We’ve found that our donors want something that marries the head and the heart.  They want their investment in the community to be making measurable changes (hence the fact side) but they also want to feel a connection to someone they helped.  It’s our first year doing it like this, but I think it’s a good tactic.

Our United Way focuses on four primary areas & community goals:  Healthy Childhood Development, Increasing Youth Opportunities, Affordable Housing and Sustainable employment.  We have one overview fact sheet on our organization, but we often find that these more focused fact sheets are what get people invested.

Take a look at the graphically-compelling, easily-scannable approach Meghan and colleagues have developed:

• Affordable Housing
• Healthy Child Development
• Increasing Youth Opportunities
• Sustainable Employment

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