Dear friends,

In February at Avalon, senior leaders take turns presenting their departments’ yearly recap, plans, and goals to our staff at large. This annual process gives the Avalon team a holistic view of the company and outlines how we can help each other succeed. Thank you to everyone who participates in this process, from our leaders, who deliver motivating presentations, to our entire staff, who ask great questions and then carry the baton forward. It truly is a team effort!

Takeaways from 2024 in the Analytics department presentation.

Important USPS News

The Washington Post broke news last week that the Trump administration may be planning to imminently disband the Postal Regulatory Commission and place USPS under the control of the Commerce Department. These changes could have a significant impact on direct mail, with the likeliest challenges being higher costs and reduced deliverability. It is important to note that as of today nothing has changed, though Postmaster General Louis DeJoy did announce his resignation. In addition, congressional Democrats are pushing back. Your Avalon teams are following every development closely with our production partners.

The DNA of Great Copy

Senior VP Margot O’Leary shared a helpful post from Frank O’Brien, which examines three case studies of great copy. These examples demonstrate how strong copywriting (1) “describes the donor’s impact in vivid tangible terms,” “(2) identifies barriers to…action and persuasively argues past them,” and (3) tells a moving story. Most importantly, they remind us that great copy is strategic; fundraisers should have a purpose and plan for why each word will be compelling.

We ♥️ Donors

Jeff Brooks at Future Fundraising Now shared an evergreen Valentine’s post on what it really means to cultivate donor love. The big idea is that “donor love…is a mindset” and a commitment to lasting connections between your donors and your organization. Brooks offers four principles to enact this premise in your fundraising:

• We are not entitled to donor support.
• The donor is a character in every fundraising story you tell.
• Donors don’t give because we are awesome; they donate because they are awesome!
• Donors want to give.

Authenticity and Social Media

In a sea of curated and AI-generated content, authenticity online is more important than ever. Candid recently outlined 5 principles to help nonprofits ring true on social media, with examples for putting each into action. They stress the importance of transparency and humanizing your nonprofit, in addition to sharing reliable information. This squares with what we know of fundraising across all channels, whether online or offline: Donor trust is both a north star and a critical strategy for engagement.

“Authenticity is about showing your organization is human-focused, genuine, and relatable. For nonprofits, this means focusing on what matters most: the people you serve, the supporters who believe in your mission, and the story you want to share.”

– Candid

Remember to Human

Before I go, I’d like to highlight a few wise words that analytics VP SB Birnie shared with our team:

Remember to human. Check in on people. Check in on yourself. Ask for help. Laugh at a joke. Roll your eyes at a bad joke. Stare at the sky (but not the sun because that’s bad for you). Wiggle your butt to a fun song. I’ve had some extra emotional energy lately so have been trying to check in on others because it’s been a weird start to the year in myriad ways.

Thank you, Birnie! Your check-ins are a great example of engaged leadership—and a welcome reminder that we’re all in this together.