Do you have some great ideas for a newsletter?

Started by IreneC • 7 replies • 1967 views

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IreneC (North Carolina)
Posts: 111

Posted:

Hello yes, it's me Irene again..

I am appointing myself interim secretary as some our board members who are newly appointed are not available until next month.

I decided to jump on the secretary position due to reading the last years worht of minutes ( really badly done by the way! )

Our news letter was due out in March. The past President insisted on doing it "on her own". It never got done. Last month we were suppose to get it out before our annual meeting.. nothing.. done.

I emialed the new board and said.. I AM DOING A NEWSLETTER!... and I am not asking thier permission to do so, only to proof it before we send it out to the MC to mail.

I WANT SOME GREAT IDEAS.. NOT THE NORMAL HUM DRUM CRAPOLA THAT THE MADAME PRESIDENT WANTED TO PUT IN IT!

JosephW (Michigan)
Posts: 882

Posted:

Don't ignore the normal, humdrum, crapola - it should still be there to inform and educate, just not be the focal point. First, get your digital camera out and take pictures - it's a great way of identifying neighbors who still don't know each other's names. Photos of people helping each other out, or people's gardens, or walking the dog (leashed) and other positive images are simple and don't require much writing.

People love well-done checklists: 10 ways to conserve water outside; 10 ways inside; 10 things you should know about the association's insurance coverage; 20 things to have pre-packed during brush fire season; what to do, who to call when the ground shakes; etc. Things they can cut out and tape to the inside of the kitchen cabinets.

If you're having a social event, it shouldn't be placed on just the event calendar - it should have it's own page (different, bold color) so that it can be taken out of the newsletter and stuck to the frig.

I'm sure you're going to get more. It's great you're taking this on.

Joe

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MikeS1
Posts: 668

Posted:

Having perused other HOA sites in this area, I always get a lot of good ideas from these other sites since they post their newsletters right on the website. Check out www.unionmills.com. Another idea - Maintenance tips, since all the homes in this community are built by just two builders, we know about common defects and share that information. They are 16 years old, so they are showing their age and everyone is going through similar experiences with their home. Also, there's some really good articles in Realty Times, but you'll need permission from them to reprint their articles. Hope that this helps.

ClaudiaH (Kentucky)
Posts: 27

Posted:

We let homeowners in our neighborhood advertise for their services, if they are public. We also list names of babysitters, lawn mowers, etc.

We have monthly Bunco & Dinner Divas (ladies go out to dinner, all are invited) announcements.

We put a new recipe in the newsletter every month.

MicheleS3 (Florida)
Posts: 30

Posted:

Hi Irene -

We have just issued our newsletter, which turned out to be 4 pages. The last page was a candidate questionnaire as we are soon to have board elections. I have had many compliments on it!

Usually our newsletter is one page and basically written as a letter. This time I tried to spice it up by making it look like an actual newspaper. It had color font and clipart. I added a couple of sayings, reminders of some of the restrictions that are frequently violated, some common sense items about being a good neighbor, etc. You can find many samples of HOA newsletters by doing an internet search and you don't have to be extremely computer savvy to do the newsletter. Although it was time consuming I was very satisfied with the way in turned out.

If you would like to see a sample of one of the pages, leave your email address and I'll be glad to email to you.

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

One of the best received things I did was an article titled - Where Does the Money Go? I broke the monthly assessment up into: General Maintenance, Administration, General Expenses, Reserves and Utilities. I then explained what each item was and how much of the H/O's money went to each item.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

ClaudiaH (Kentucky)
Posts: 27

Posted:

OMG Glen, do you really live in Ohio? I made a handout for the last annual meeting with the title, "Where the Money Goes" and broke up the spending into 4 categories... utilities, maintenance, administrative costs, special events. At the bottom, each category's contents were spelled out. I listed the amounts for each category for the past 8 years and included percentages.

Was aimed to sort of curb any wild assumptions that the bulk of our monies went anywhere but street lights and repair.

Great minds think alike!

GlenL (Ohio)
Posts: 5,491

Posted:

Yes I do a few miles east of Cincinnati, when I did the newsletter besides the mundane reminders pickup your dog's waste, put the trash in the dumpsters, etc. I always tried to let the H/O's know what was going on. In the spring I would print a list of the projects we were planning for the year. I'm of the firm believer on telling everything not protected by privilege; it keeps down the whole secretive board crud.

Studies show that 5 out of 4 people have problems with fractions

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