... that donors don't care to be "educated," at least not in the schoolroom sense. They are not proto-employees. They don't need to know the underlying pedagogy and the precious details.
They are NOT your organization's "mini-me's." (Well, there you go: Big Donor Newsletter Secret #1.)
Know your target audience, above all. It's the first (and kind of only) rule for success in marketing.
In other words: each donor made that first gift for her/his reasons ... NOT for your reasons.
You do NOT convince people to give. They give for their own reasons ... personal reasons ... reasons mostly to do with self-identity.
You know what? Even calling them "reasons" is guilty of mislabeling. These "reasons" are ALWAYS emotional triggers at work. I give because you've touched me somewhere I had a pressure point.
"I felt guilty." I gave.
"That could have been me." I gave.
"That was me." I gave.
"That was my friend." I gave.
"I'll never get into heaven at this rate." I gave.
We have a million reasons for our charity ... and they're all good.