The Laurelhurst Community Club, formerly the Laurelhurst Improvement Club, has been a long-standing neighborhood entity, serving the community since 1920.
LCC maintains a website which states:
LCC was established to foster the improvement and beautification of the neighborhood. LCC seeks to identify and address community concerns and to provide a forum to promote solutions by working with the community at large, other civic organizations, and government.LCC publishes a hard copy newsletter ten times a year (2 issues are combined), called the "Laurelhurst Letter" which is mailed to about 2,800 households. Costs of the newsletter are off-set in part by neighbors opting to pay $60 annual dues as well as revenue from newsletter advertising.
Last month, LCC published in their newsletter about the cost of sending out the letter to neighbors and solicited neighbor feedback:
About the Letter
Expenses to produce and mail the LCC newsletter have been gradually increasing over recent years while advertising revenue has dropped. Currently we publish and mail 2,840 copies at a cost of 77¢ each. A slight increase in dues would cover the cost.
LCC invites you to respond to this brief survey and submit comments. Your feedback will help shape the frequency, type, and content of future LCC communications
This month LCC posted the results of the survey in the newsletter:
Survey Elicits Constructive Comments
Thank you to all who took the time to complete and return last month’s newsletter survey. As of press time, LCC had received 65 responses, 61 by mail and four via email – about 2.5 percent of readership. The responses trend very favorably, as you can read in the comments received below.
The majority prefer a frequent printed publication and would support a slight dues increase. Those who prefer only electronic communication, naturally would not support that increase. Readers generally find something newsworthy, but there is a legitimate point that some “news” may already have been communicated on the Laurelhurst Blog or other source by the time the newsletter arrives in the mail. Mostly, it seems the newsletter provides a sense of community and belonging. Not a thing wrong with that.
Laurelhurst Letter Survey Results (NOTE: Not all respondents answered all questions; therefore, the total responses per question vary slightly.)
How often do you read the LCC newsletter? Always: 66 Usually: 4 Sometimes: 2 Seldom: 1
Do you find the LCC newsletter content informative and relevant? Always: 41 Usually: 8 Sometimes: 12 Seldom: 1
How frequently would you like to receive LCC newsletters? 10 times per year: 31 Quarterly: 16 Quarterly or more: 9
How do you prefer to learn about goings on in the neighborhood? Multiple responses noted. LCC Newsletter: 56 LCC Constant Contact: 9 Laurelhurst Blog: 34 Windermere/Laurelhurst magazine: 6 Laurelhurst Elementary: 1 Nextdoor website: 2
Do you prefer a printed newsletter delivered to your mailbox or an electronic version delivered via email? Always print: 25 Always electronic: 10 Either: 22 Neither: 1 Both: 9
Would you support a dues increase of $5 to supplement the cost of publishing and mailing a printed newsletter? Yes: 34 No: 14 I don’t LCC pay dues: 15 (Pay Windermere dues 2)
Do you subscribe to LCC’s Constant Contact email network? Yes: 7 No: 47 Subscribe me!: 23
Do you subscribe to the Laurelhurst Blog? Yes: 32 No: 30
Survey Comments
I like the newsletter and would like to continue to receive it, by email of US mail.
I hope you continue to publish the newsletter – sending by email or print. I prefer email. (I feel however there are still those in the neighborhood which still prefer a printed version of the newsletter.)
I sit at a computer all day and I appreciate having a newsletter I can read away from my desk. Of course, if you have something urgent to convey you can do so in addition to the quarterly LCC newsletter, electronically.
It would be great to have more information in the newsletter. Seems like there is more happening in and around the neighborhood. Maybe a couple of columnists on topics like schools; history; area events; restaurant reviews.
Quarterly would be plenty – you could have a bigger calendar. This often seems redundant and late. Unclassifieds are good.
I prefer print but I understand about the cost. Electronic version would be okay.
We like to read the LCC newsletter for “hard news that we can’t always find from other sources – items about the 520 construction, what’s happening at Children’s, real estate transactions, etc. We live in Windermere.
We really enjoy reading the newsletter. We would like to know more about the crimes committed in the neighborhood.
We love the Laurelhurst Blog!
Great job on our community newsletter! Always well written and very interesting content! Pretty inexpensive in a very expensive city!
Please keep printed version. If it’s email only, then it is easy to miss or gloss over. The printed version is something that stands out in the mail. I read all the advertisements and want ads in printed newsletter. But don’t read them in email.
Excellent writing and information, especially with regard to building projects and interaction with the city (complaints, etc.).
I’ve lived in Laurelhurst for 35 years and used to really look forward to learning about my neighborhood this way (newsletter). Now is a different time – by the time this arrives we all have read about these things already – online – maybe it still works for a very small part of the aging neighborhood who doesn’t use computer or iPhone. Save the paper – it’s time.
I read the newsletter because it is printed. If electronic, it would get lost in all the other mail.
To subscribe to the LCC newsletter and also occasional email newsletters, send email to laurelhurstnews@comcast.net. Archived newsletters can be found here.
To subscribe to the Laurelhurst Blog, a separate entity published week-days, go here.
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