Merkaz L’Taharas Hamishpacha

“When we came to Shterna, it was because we felt like we were spinning our wheels. We were working with a high-level marketing agency, but the copy wasn’t great – and we knew messaging is extremely important. 

We realized that it wasn’t just about needing another marketing company. We needed someone who could really get in, take it all in, and understand the organization, someone who could get into the kishkes of it. Especially when there’s a huge amount of information, you need someone who can create a clear path and get things into an effective groove.

Sometimes you work with a copywriter and they do the project — they write the words — but they don’t understand the larger picture. They don’t think about how the copy will actually be used, or whether it works for what you’re trying to accomplish. Based on the goal, that copy just won’t work.

What made [working with Shterna] different was that so much was developed through her really learning and understanding what the organization actually is. Here, it wasn’t just copy being handed over. Shterna looks at the whole project, the whole goal, what we’re trying to accomplish, and builds everything based on that. 

What we gained was a real roadmap and the content we needed to use as messaging. 

Looking back at all the emails and content that were created, we now have a full 360 — a real library of all the angles that make our organization what it is. Not gimmicks — the messaging now gets to the essence. 

At first, when Shterna suggested sending weekly emails, we were hesitant. We thought it might be too much and that people would unsubscribe. But the truth is, when the emails are well-structured, crafted, and engaging, people enjoy them. 

And the amazing thing is that donors who already gave during big campaigns or Yomim Tovim see an inspiring email and give again. Even people who are already recurring donors get inspired by a strong email and swipe their card again. We’ve seen it first-hand: many donors keep on giving again and again. 

Because we focused so much on email [with Shterna], it also gave us the ability to roll things out over time instead of doing one-time campaigns where you’re forced to focus on only one thing. 

Her team is very savvy with funnel sequencing and data. She cares deeply about figuring out what works best. She’ll do A/B testing and analyze the data, and if the organization shares that information, she’ll do a phenomenal job using it. On top of that, she doesn’t just write the copy — she implements the full campaign, the emails, everything — so you really get the best of both worlds. Even internally, the process itself was a crystallizer. We gained a lot of clarity around what works, what doesn’t, and what resonates with this specific donor audience.

When you do this consistently — like we’ve been doing for over eighteen months — you also create a library of content that you can continue to use. A lot of organizations love campaigns: the copy, the design, the theme, the tagline, the hooks. And campaigns are great. But from a global perspective, you need consistent messaging — messaging that works, that speaks to donors, that gets them to act and not just move on.

Another major strength is that this work is very collaborative and workable. You can have conversations and hash things out. It’s not “my way or the highway.” It’s not just about the copy — it’s about strategy and copy working hand in glove.

Another very important point is that she specializes in nonprofits. Her heart and soul are in this space. She understands donor behavior — what works and what doesn’t. She genuinely cares about what’s best for the organization and will even send people elsewhere if that’s what makes the most sense.

I’ve already told other people to reach out to Shterna, and I would continue to do so. There’s a real science to nonprofit marketing, and it can’t be a one-time thing. It’s a long-term strategy: the pieces, at the right time, to the right people, the right storytelling, supported by the right design — all working together to engage people, nurture them, and ultimately turn them into consistent donors.

That’s really what Shterna does.”

— Rabbi Yakov Tescher