CASE STUDY: Resolve of Oregon

The client: Resolve of Oregon is a national nonprofit organization meeting the needs of couples coping with infertility.

The challenge: The Pacific Northwest chapter was struggling with dwindling membership for a few years. They had been doing a 16- to 20-page newsletter quarterly for some time. However, the production was done by volunteers and was just a MicroSoft Word document copied at the local copy center, which was eating away at the chapter's bank account (see the "before" newsletter on the left).

The problem: This organization was not taken seriously. Their newsletter did not engage the readers. Because it looked so unprofessional, service providers (doctors, counselors, adoption lawyers, etc.) did not want to be associated with them. Also, members and prospective members were not impressed with the organization because of the image portrayed by their chapter newsletter.

The solution: To underscore the credibility of this organization, Newsletter Associates created a more high-end magazine format (see the "after" newsletter at right and some inside spreads below). Articles were culled from the national organization's archives and supplemented with a column on the journey of local members. Since this is a nonprofit, cost was a major concern. By using content from the national archives, costs for creating new articles was eliminated. Now, volunteers only had to do one member interview a quarter or have a member write up their story using a simple story form provided by Newsletter Associates and include a photo. The rest of the creation, development, and production was taken care of for them. This reduced time spent by the local chapter from about 25 hours per issue to less than two hours per issue. Stock photos were used to further reduce costs and a local printer agreed to provide production for a fraction of the cost.

The results:

• Since the improved 'magazine' layout greatly increased the credibility and image of the organization, professional service providers were interested in buying ad space which now pays for the production and distribution of the entire project.
• This magazine is now seen as a membership benefit and serves as an incentive for new members to join. In the 18 months that this magazine has been in production, membership of the local chapter has tripled. The national organization has taken notice and is now considering doing a similar newsletter in their other chapters.
• Because of the more professional image of the local organization, more members have volunteered with varying aspects of the organizations events turning this once fading chapter into a vibrant and exciting group.

A look inside: