Creating collateral that is clear and sends the right message is very important for a successful fundraising campaign. Unfortunately, nonprofits are often met with the challenge of limited resources in finding the time and money to hire a good designer. I know that I speak for the entire Achieve staff when I say that we believe nonprofits should invest into a good designer! Especially with something as big as a fundraising campaign, if you do not have effective design you will have a hard time connecting with your audience, which leads to fewer donations.
But with that said, there are certainly times when nonprofits need to create a promotional piece internally, whether it be laying out a newsletter, a thank you card or a proposal. So here are a few basic guidelines to think about when you are using typography (fonts) in promotional pieces.
1) Use a Consistent Font
I am not going to point fingers, so if you are one of those nonprofits that uses six different fonts on one newsletter, there is always room for forgiveness. However, the most important part of using typography is to make it so that your readers can actually read the font. Contrary to common belief, using one consistent font will make it easier for your readers to understand the information. In addition, use the same font for all of your promotional materials in order to maintain a consistent brand identity (i.e. newsletters, postcards, thank you cards, brochures, etc.) Most nonprofits will have one font for print materials and a similar font for web.
2) Use a White Background for Body Text
In general, if you are forced to create a promotional piece internally, keep it as simple as possible. Don’t add background colors or too many graphics and please do not use clip art. It all goes back to readability where if you place white text over a black background the reader’s eyes will strain to gather the information. In fact, if you don’t make it convenient and easy to get the right information the reader will just pass it by.
3) Choose a Font that is Professional
Again, simple is better. Often times fonts that look like handwriting or are too script-like are more difficult to read and your audience will miss the message. Below are a few examples of fonts that are available on almost every computer and are good choices when creating promotional pieces. Helvetica is a classic font that is clean and contemporary and is great for both headers and body text. If you do not have Helvetica, you can use Arial as a secondary choice. Palatino is good to use when you want your text to look a little bit more formal, such as on a flier for an evening dinner fundraising event. Palatino also looks nice in italics, which is shown in the body text below. Having stood the test of time, Garamond is another font that gives a professional yet traditional feel. Trust me on this one, do not use Comic Sans, Papyrus or Lucida Handwriting.
