Never ignore – or underestimate – the opportunity to communicate with those nice people who send you money. Even the humblest form of communication has remarkable potential.

Recently Emmaus, the homelessness charity we work with, asked us to look at their newsletter and bring it into line with their new branding. We re-designed it in a new, friendly format and put in as much inspirational content as a very tight print budget would allow. We also wrote a short, simple letter to accompany it, with the meerest suggestion that a further gift would prove helpful.

As a result Emmaus received, from one enthusiastic supporter, a cheque for £25,000! Our client was bowled over, and by return sent a letter of… well, just a bit more than common or garden thanks. And the recipient was so touched by the care taken in writing this second letter, that another cheque for £1,000 arrived in the post!

Very often, as a charity supporter myself, I get the feeling that newsletters are a convenient dumping ground for inconsequential information – viewed, in communication terms, as the ‘runt of the litter’. We helped Emmaus to prove that even the humble newsletter has the power to elicit a stunning response.

Barry Evans