editing emails « We Write For You

Write to your nonprofit board members to keep them involved

September 8, 2009 | Posted in: Fundraising, Nonprofits | Tags: annual meeting, blogpost, board meetings, board minutes, editing emails, Fundraising, nonprofit, not-for-profit, organization, PR, private donors, Public Relations, raise funds, social media, Twitter, volunteers, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com |

Today’s post is for those of you who operate a nonprofit organization. To be successful, your organization needs dedicated volunteers and board members. The best way to secure that dedication is by keeping these folks in touch with your activities.

This can be done through email messages, a post on your blog or social media such as Facebook or Twitter. (Keep in mind, some members might not be familiar with social media. Take the time to learn what modes of communication are most useful for your board.)

If board members are kept current with the organization only through meetings and minutes, they could get the idea they exist only to rubber stamp your plans. If you’re relying on board members to raise funds, remember you probably will get back about as much time and attention as you give to them.

Board members cannot promote a program they know little about. If they aren’t sufficiently involved in accomplishments, how can they “sell” your organization as a good investment?

When the organization is launched or after the annual dinner, there is a feeling of togetherness among board members, volunteers and staff. They are working for a cause that all embrace. You need to follow up with continuing contact to maintain the momentum. Frankly, keeping volunteers is all about momentum. (more…)

Comments (0)

Can you find all 14 writing mistakes?

August 3, 2009 | Posted in: General Writing, Spell Check is Not Your Friend | Tags: business writing, copywriting, editing, editing emails, editing tips, grammar, proofreading, proper usage, spell check, spell checker, spellcheck, spelling, usage, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com, writing tips |

Here are some basic mistakes that do not get flagged by a spell checker. Can you spot all the errors?

I consider people talking loudly on there cell phones in public to be offense of. They should of taken care of business at home or at there work sight. Do they have more rite to be herd in public then others?

I mite just go up to a loud cell talker and say, “Are thoughts could be as important as yours. We cant here them because your so loud. You deserve an Olympic mettle for rudeness!”

There are 14 words used mistakenly in context. Did you find this type of writing to be a turnoff? One friend told us, “When I read something like this, I die a little inside.”

As we’ve said before: you must review and edit everything you write.

Comments (0)

Don’t let email habits infect your business writing

May 15, 2009 | Posted in: General Writing | Tags: business writing, client relations, editing emails, email, grammar, judging, volunteer, volunteer work, We Write For You, wewriteforyou.com |

Email is a blessing. It provides rapid, written communication and gives us a way to send documents and photographs to destinations all over the world.

Many among us, however, treat our e-mail messages as very rough drafts that are never edited before being disseminated. I’ve known administrators of large organizations to send typo-ridden emails that require extra time for readers to decipher.

Writers who are careless with seemingly internal email communication forget that email messages are often forwarded to external recipients. When those emails are read by potential clients or other individuals with influence, the image of the email-writer’s organization can be seriously damaged.

More and more we are seeing the careless email-style of writing creep into other communications. I recently had the honor of judging nominations of persons whose volunteer work would be recognized with a prestigious award. Each written nomination was submitted on behalf of the nominee by someone else.

Unfortunately, some of these nominations were written entirely in lowercase (as often seen in emails); one even lacked periods to delineate sentences, and several had typographical errors and misspellings.

My dilemma, as a judge, was how much (or even whether) to let the nominator’s lack of care as a writer cause me to question the contributions of the nominee. I felt sorry for the good nominees whose opportunity to receive the award was imperiled by the very person who wanted them to win.

Comments (0)