Donor Communication That Does the Work Your Team Doesn't Have Time For
Two ways to work with The Ghostwriting Lab — a fast-win email sequence or a full ongoing newsletter program — both built around your school's voice, your mission, and your giving goals.
What I Offer
Every engagement is interview-based — no writing required from your development team. I find the stories. I write the emails. You review and approve.
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Price/Timeline: $4,000 · 4-Week Project
The right entry point if you have a dormant alumni base, lapsed donors, or current families who feel disconnected from the school's mission. In four weeks, I'll audit your list, learn your voice, and deliver five professionally written emails designed to warm your audience, tell compelling institutional stories, and move readers toward a specific action — annual fund gift, event attendance, or re-engagement.
What's included:
Audience & List Audit — review of your current email segments and identification of the highest-priority audience to reach first
Voice & Mission Interview — a focused conversation to capture your school's tone, values, and the stories that make it special
5-Email Sequence — written in your school's voice, story-led, with a clear call to action
List-Building Recommendations — practical suggestions for growing your list through your website, events, and alumni portal
Launch Support — implementation guidance for Constant Contact, Mailchimp, Blackbaud, or whatever platform you use
Performance Snapshot — a review of open rates and engagement after the sequence goes live
Newsletter Transition Plan — a clear picture of what an ongoing monthly program would look like for your school
Best for: Schools launching or refreshing a major gift campaign · Schools with a large lapsed donor segment · Development offices that have tried newsletters before and want to do it right this time -
Price/Timeline: $3,000–$5,000/month · 6-Month Engagement
This is for development offices ready to build a real communication program. One to four emails per month, written entirely in your school's voice, based on interviews with your faculty, administrators, alumni, and students. Your team spends about 30 minutes a month reviewing drafts. I handle everything else — story sourcing, writing, scheduling, analytics, and continuous optimization.
The 6-month commitment exists because donor relationships don't change overnight. Consistent presence compounds. Schools that show up in donors' inboxes every month — with stories that make people feel proud and connected — are the ones that see annual fund participation grow and major donor relationships deepen.
What's included:
Monthly Newsletter Writing: 1–4 emails per month, warm, mission-driven, and story-led
Content Ideation & Planning: story identification based on your school calendar, alumni milestones, faculty achievements, and student stories
Interview-Based Writing: short calls with faculty, administrators, alumni, or students to surface the stories that make donors give and families feel proud
Segmented Communication Guidance: recommendations for tailoring content to donors, alumni, current families, and prospective families
Annual Fund Integration: strategic language woven into content to support your giving goals without every email feeling like an appeal
Light Analytics Review: monthly review of open rates and engagement trends
Ongoing Optimization: continuous refinement of subject lines, storytelling approach, and calls-to-action as your audience relationship deepens
Best for: Development offices with an established donor and alumni list · Schools with low annual fund retention · Small development teams (1–3 people) without dedicated writing staff · Schools rebuilding community after a leadership transition -
If your school's needs don't fit neatly into one of the options above, let's talk.
The Ghostwriting Lab also works with admissions offices, university development teams, and nonprofit foundations. If you have a specific campaign, a capital giving push, or a one-time communications project, reach out and I'll let you know if I can help — and what that would look like.
My Process
Learn Your School
Every engagement starts with a deep-dive conversation: your mission, your community, your voice, and your advancement goals. I review past communications, learn your tone, and build a plan aligned to your giving calendar. No two schools get the same playbook.
Find the Stories
I interview your faculty, administrators, alumni, and students to surface the stories that make donors give and families feel proud. Calls are short, recorded, and transcribed, so everything I write is grounded in your school's real voice, not generic institutional language.
Write and Refine
You receive drafts on a clear schedule with plenty of time to review. Feedback is one round. Most clients spend fewer than 30 minutes a month on this. I handle revisions, scheduling, and send.
Track and Improve
After each issue, I review performance and report what's working. Over time, I refine the approach — better subject lines, sharper stories, stronger calls-to-action — so your content compounds and your donor relationships deepen with every send.
Let’s Work Together
Not sure which option is right for your school? That's what the discovery call is for. Tell me a little about your development office, your community, and where donor communication has been falling short. I'll give you an honest read on what I think would help — and whether we're a good fit.