Fundraising Tuesday Archives - Page 15 of 46

Fundraising Tuesday: Should Direct Mail Be A Part of Your Fundraising Campaign?

March 23, 2021 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

A guest post by Grant Cobb of GivingMail

As you look forward to 2021 and beyond, consider new trends that begin to emerge and the long-standing efforts that persevere when crafting your fundraising campaigns. One of our favorites that continues to stand the test of time is direct mail.

Our GivingMail guide on direct mail for nonprofits shares that direct mail continues to be the leading source of individual donations in the U.S. So, yes, direct mail should be a part of your fundraising campaign.

Through our 70+ years of experience, we know a thing or two about hosting a successful direct mail fundraising campaign—and we’ve put together this quick guide so that you can too. Specifically, we’ll discuss the following key points:

Integrating direct mail and digital strategies
Building relationships with supporters
Thanking donors for their contributions
Direct mail best practices

Integrating direct mail and digital strategies

Direct mail is an important channel for grabbing your audience’s attention and encouraging them to give. But is it enough?

According to 360MatchPro’s fundraising statistics list, 16% of donors prefer to give via direct mail. That’s a good portion of your audience that will be happy to mail a check for your fundraising campaign. However, there’s still a large number of supporters who might prefer to give digitally. The solution? Integrating your direct mail and virtual fundraising strategies.

Here are three simple ways to do so:

Include an easy-to-type URL in your direct mailing.
Generate and display a QR code leading to your donation page.
Incorporate your text-to-give number and keyword.

Integrating your direct mail and digital strategies allows you and your supporters to get the best of both worlds. You can grab your audiences’ attention with one of the most powerful marketing and communication channels available while still allowing them to give in the most convenient way.

Building relationships with supporters

Even beyond the actual donation ask, direct mailings can greatly impact your donor relationships and how recipients view their connection to your organization.

Essentially, sending campaign updates, informational newsletters, and other types of non-fundraising asks via direct mail can be a fantastic way to communicate to donors that they matter on a level that’s deeper than their wallets. This is referred to as donor stewardship or cultivation efforts, and it’s a critical component of bringing supporters into the mix as partners.

Direct mail is also one of the most powerful communication channels for this type of relationship-building due to its ability to break through the digital clutter. Studies show that written words can keep your organization at the top of the recipient’s mind for longer than if they were to read about your work on a screen.

Thanking donors for their contributions

Even once you’ve received your donation, it doesn’t mean your job as a fundraising professional is over. Instead, it’s time to continue deepening your relationships with donors—starting with a specific, detailed thank-you.

So how should you communicate your appreciation to your supporters? There’s a bit of controversy in the fundraising space about whether an email can suffice as a thank-you message or whether a direct mailing should be required. In our opinion, a thank-you email can be an excellent first step, but it definitely shouldn’t be the last. Instead, a physical thank-you note sent to a donor’s mailbox can make a significant impact on their connection to your organization.

Luckily, free templates like these can help you craft your messages with ease. Simply start with a sample thank-you letter, and be sure to add important details like addressing the recipient by their preferred name and acknowledging their specific gift. Let’s compare these two potential messages:

Dear Donor, thank you for your generous gift to our organization.
Dear Brenda, thank you for your gift of $100 to help provide impoverished students in our community with the school supplies they need to succeed.

The first example seems like it was mass-sent to anyone who had donated recently. The latter is a specific message crafted carefully with the intended recipient in mind. The added effort that goes into sending a thank-you letter via direct mail rather than email can also show your increased dedication to appreciating donors effectively.

Direct mail best practices

Now that you understand the purpose of direct mail in fundraising, it’s essential to get your message out in the most effective way possible. Let’s discuss a few key strategies and tips:

1. Include specific donation requests

In any direct mail appeals you send, it’s important to include a specific call to action. In a typical fundraising letter, the intended action is to complete a donation.

However, making a broad request for donations can be too vague to drive results. That’s why you should be sure to include specific numbers to help guide the donor on their giving path.

Take a look at these examples:

A donation of $25 can feed a hungry child for one week.
A donation of $100 can feed a hungry child for one month.
A donation of $500 can feed a family of four for one month.

All of these requests are more effective and actionable than “Please donate to our organization.”

By incorporating specific dollar amounts, along with the tangible impacts of each donation size, you encourage recipients to support your organization and its mission by giving more. Plus, you can leverage the power of social proof by showing potential donors what a typical gift size is, which removes the uncertainty around what they’re “supposed to” give.

2. Invest in high-quality materials

Even the most well-written fundraising letter won’t ensure results (or donations) if you neglect the appeal’s physical aspects. If it comes across as looking unenticing or otherwise spammy, it might even go straight from the mailbox to the trash can! One way to avoid this phenomenon is by investing in high-quality materials (like paper, ink, and envelopes) for your mailings.

Print your direct mailings on high-grade paper (at least 60#).
Use a decent printer and ink so that your text/imagery is legible and visually appealing.
Include a pre-paid, pre-addressed return envelope with any direct mail appeals.

Putting thought into optimizing your direct mailings’ physical elements is a great way to increase your envelope open rate. At this point, your content’s quality will take over in coaxing a donation from the reader. After all, making a good first impression matters.

3. Outsource your direct mail efforts

A well-planned-out direct mail fundraising campaign could take a lot of work to pull off. However, it’s possible to outsource the bulk of the effort to a dedicated direct mail fundraising company and save time and money for your mission.

Just like working with an experienced fundraising consultant can help your team make the most of your efforts (and your fundraising dollars), a direct mail platform can help you send your appeals effectively while seeing the most outstanding results.

Not only can this type of partner provide you with free and effective donation request letters and templates, but they can also assist you in sending your letters in the most time- and cost-efficient manner possible.

Direct mail companies can even help send your mailings for less than it would cost to purchase paper, ink, envelopes, and stamps on your own—thanks to bulk discounts made available by bundling your appeals with other organizations.’ It’s a win-win!

Just remember—it’s not good enough to scribble a note and drop it off at the post office. Make sure to craft your appeals carefully to increase the likelihood of your letter being opened, read, and responded to. Good luck!

Grant Cobb is a fundraising specialist with over 6 years of experience in the nonprofit space. Currently the head of marketing and analytics at GivingMail, he is a huge proponent of data-driven decision making and the push to bring high-level analytics and fundraising to all.

Fundraising Tuesday: Let Donors Hear That They Matter

February 23, 2021 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Is your nonprofit not getting the donations that you would like? The reason might be that you are not telling donors what they want to hear.

I’ll let you in on a secret: I read all the appeal letters you send to the Fischman household, and the great majority of them are focused on your nonprofit organization.

You bragged about what “we” accomplished. You told Rona and me about what “we” need.

And in each case, “we” meant the organization…not the Fischmans or any other donors.

This is an Opportunity!

The bad news is that by saying “we,” you are putting the donors on the outside and making them less likely to give. Donors don’t want to hear that you’re great without them. Why should they donate if you’re already doing so well?

The good news is that you can tell donors what they want to hear–which is that they matter.

Let Donors Hear the Difference They Make

Do donors really need to hear that they matter? Don’t just take it from me.

To create compelling stories for your nonprofit marketing, consider ways to make the audience the hero of the story. –Khaled Allen

Your donors don’t care about your campaign goal! -Tom Ahern

So what do donors care about? They care about themselves. Not in a selfish way, but in how they help your organization succeed. They want to know what difference their support makes. The impact their donation has on your ability to fulfill your mission. –Chad Barger

Three female superheroes on a t-shirt

Why do superheros keep on going? Because they know something bad will happen if they stop. Making your donors the superheroes for your organization helps them understand they need to keep helping your cause, keep fighting the bad guys, and keep making the world a better place. –Kivi Leroux Miller

How You Can Say “You Matter” so They Hear It

If you are using the word you more than the name of your agency, that’s a good first step. By itself, though, you won’t do the trick.

'We are a great agency, so you need to support us' is not making the donors feel they matter. Share on X

The key idea to express is “Because of you, the donor, this success story happens.” Draw a direct line between the donor’s decision to give and the lives saved, or the people helped, or the great work of art produced or performed.

It’s odd but true: the more you claim the credit, the less people feel inclined to give.

But please hear this: the more you step out of the way, the more you portray your organization as the donor’s tool for doing what they want done, the more likely your donors are to give. And to feel proud of themselves. And to give again.

Fundraising Tuesday: Envelopes the Donor Will Open

January 26, 2021 by Dennis Fischman Leave a Comment

Did you get a lot of requests for donations in the mail last year? So did I. As a fundraiser, I’m glad to see all these envelopes, but as a donor, I’m overwhelmed!

I just held a ruler up to the stack of mail that arrived in November and December of 2020. It was more than six inches worth of paper.

Taller than a coffee cup, for sure. But more powerful?

The power of the nonprofit message all depends on whether donors choose to open the envelope. Share on X

Direct Mail is You Against the World

Piles of envelopes coming through the mail: at home, we are used to that. As donors ourselves, we may have a routine: open the mail next to the recycling bin and pitch, pitch, pitch. Save that one for later. Pitch, pitch, pitch.

That includes the organizations we love and the organizations we’ve never heard of. The appeal letters are mixed in with the bills and the marketing mail. It’s all just a mass of paper, and the more we throw into the bin, the more we win.

We know that when we are at home, thinking like donors. But as soon as we put on our fundraising hats, we forget it.

Our nonprofit is so special, and its work is so important. Donors must be dying to see, open, and read everything we send them. Right?

Wrong. Our appeal letters are part of the pile, and it’s our direct mail against letters from everybody else in the world–until we do something that makes donors want to read them. Often, that’s the envelope.

Envelopes that Welcome Donors In

Research says that one of the best ways to get your mail to stand out from the pack is to send it in an oversized envelope. Whether that’s a full sheet of paper or a greeting card size, it immediately calls attention to itself.

As you can see, some of these envelopes use graphics to differentiate themselves, too. That’s even more important if you’re sending appeal letters in regular business-sized envelopes. An envelope with graphics…

..or an envelope that IS a graphic!

With or without a drawing or photo on the front, some envelopes beg to be opened because they have a compelling message there. CISPES says, “Trump is out but the struggle is far from over!” Don’t you want to open the envelope to find out what that mean, and what you can do about it?

Women for Women says, next to a photo of a woman carrying handmade blankets on her back, “I am the new definition of a business woman.”

(The Task Force used a colorful first-class stamp, which catches the eye–and is known to get a better result than a nonprofit imprint.)

What did your nonprofit do in 2020 to make sure your envelope would get opened?

What will you do in 2021, now that you’ve looked at these examples?

Navigation Bar

Fundraising Tuesday: Should Direct Mail Be A Part of Your Fundraising Campaign?

Integrating direct mail and digital strategies

Building relationships with supporters

Thanking donors for their contributions