How to Make a Newsletter for a Church, School or Nonprofit (Without Publisher)

To make a newsletter without Microsoft Publisher, start from a template, set the page size to US Letter or A4, put each story in linked text boxes so it can flow between columns and pages, add your own photos, and export a PDF to print or email. Korva does all of this offline on Mac, Windows and Linux, and it opens your old Publisher newsletters too, so you can start from last issue.

The newsletter is the core printed job for most churches, schools, clubs and nonprofits: a masthead, a lead story, some photos, a calendar, and the same layout every month. For years that meant Publisher. Since Publisher left Microsoft 365 on October 1, 2026, many offices need another way to keep it going.

1. Start from a template or last issue

Don’t build a newsletter from a blank page. You have three good starting points:

• Your last Publisher newsletter. If it’s a .pub file, open it in Korva. Files from Publisher 2003 and later open with their layout as an editable copy, so you change this month’s words and keep the design. Your original file is never changed.
• Korva’s built-in Community newsletter. Under File › New, the Community newsletter template is four A4 pages with a masthead, a lead story set in two linked columns, and inside pages that share a master page.
• The free two-page newsletter template. Our Two-Page Community Newsletter is US Letter, with a masthead, a lead story with a drop cap, photo stories and a month-at-a-glance calendar. Download the PDF to see it, or the editable .kva to open in Korva.

2. Set the page size

Printed newsletters are almost always US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) in North America or A4 elsewhere. To change it, use Page Design › Size. If you switch between the two, check each page afterwards, because A4 is narrower and taller than Letter. Our A4 vs US Letter guide covers what moves.

Plan the page count before you write:

Pages	How it prints
1	One side of one sheet
2	Front and back of one sheet
4	One larger sheet folded in half, or two sheets stapled

3. Lay it out in columns

Two or three columns make a newsletter easy to read. In Korva you can do it either way:

• Separate text boxes per column, lined up against the page guides (Page Design › Guides). This is how most Publisher newsletters were built.
• One text box with columns. Select the box and set Columns in the Format pane’s Text tab. See columns and drop caps.

Keep body text at about 10–12 pt. If a story doesn’t fit, cut it rather than shrinking the type.

4. Let stories flow between boxes and pages

A long story often starts on page one and finishes on page three. That’s what linked text boxes are for:

1. Select the box whose text doesn’t fit.
2. Click the link button beside it.
3. Click the empty box where the story should continue, on the same page or a later one.

When a story jumps pages, Korva adds small (Continued on page N) and (Continued from page N) notes, and they update if you reorder pages. To have Korva create the boxes for you, click Autoflow… in the Format pane. The linked text boxes guide has the details.

5. Use master pages for what repeats

The newsletter name in the header, the page number and the footer should look the same on every page. Put them on a master page (Page Design › Master Pages) and every page that uses it picks them up. Change the issue date once and it changes everywhere. Master pages are part of Korva Pro; see the master pages guide.

6. Add photos of your own people

Photos of your own events and volunteers get read far more than stock pictures. Double-click a photo to replace it. For print, use photos at least 1,500 pixels across for a half-page picture, and ask permission before printing photos of children.

7. Check, then export

Before you print:

• Read every story once on paper. Typos hide on screen.
• Check names, dates, times and phone numbers twice. They are what readers act on.
• Update the masthead’s issue number and date.
• Look at the ready-to-print check, which flags text that doesn’t fit and pictures that are too small.

Then File › Export › PDF for email and the website, or Press-ready PDF if a print shop is doing the copies. The PDF is also what you post on your website or attach to the email version.

Sending it out

A printed newsletter often goes in the mail. If you keep your mailing list in Excel, the same list can print the address labels: see how to print Avery labels without Publisher.

What it costs

Korva’s free version opens and edits any .pub file and exports your first complete project as often as you like, with no watermark. A monthly newsletter is a new project each month, so most offices will want Korva Pro: $49 once, with editable .kva saves so next month starts from this month, plus master pages and mail merge. There’s a 14-day refund if it isn’t right.