Doom and gloom. It gets a bad rap.

Nearly anyone who has ever tested the effectiveness of good news vs. bad news in a fundraising solicitation acknowledges that going to the dark side raises more money. That doesn’t stop onlookers from condemning the “negativity” of fundraising messages.

This Jeff Brooks blog post from last year nails it.

That said, good news, especially your successes, is critical to fundraising – as a central part of your stewardship and cultivation communications. You don’t have a cultivation strategy for your donors? Then I have bad news for you. You’re doing it wrong.