Proven strategies and techniques for increasing your fundraising results using the direct mail channel.
When you’re constructing a reason for your donors to give to your organization, it often comes down to a simple question: “Why does your organization need the money?” The answer to this question will be discovered when you identify what you and your donors are both passionate about making happen.
Direct response strategies are often structured around moments in time: holidays, emergencies, infrastructure needs, or when you pay your bills. As soon as our donors break the seal on that carrier envelope, it’s just a matter of time until the appeal is out of mind. But your newsletter shouldn’t be that way.
We often hear clients use the words “Summer Slump,” a term they use to describe what can be a difficult time of year to fundraise successfully. With school out, people on vacation, and good weather, donors can be distracted, and supporting your organization’s cause may not always be top of mind. But summer doesn’t have to be a time when you’re barely meeting your budget.
If it’s been a while since Sally A. Sample sent you a financial gift, don’t assume she’s forgotten about you altogether.
Sally is what you call a lapsed donor, and the potentially quieter summer months ahead of us might be a good time to start figuring out how to get those lapsed donors back. Generally speaking, lapsed donors haven’t made a financial gift of any kind in more than 12 months.
As you approach the summer months, traditionally a season of reduced giving, get ahead of the curve and make sure your data is performing the way it should be.
Building a quality development program can take several years to complete. I’ve found that it doesn’t come overnight and there are few shortcuts, if any. Mostly it’s learning the tricks of the trade, using the right tools, and serving in the apprenticeship of time. It also requires having the ability to see the potential of something that perhaps others can’t see.
Gone are the days when a successful growth strategy can rely solely on acquiring new donors through a single channel, like direct mail or radio or television. Now potential donors are consuming information multiple ways and your organization needs to be present in the places they spend their time.
Just days after Hurricane Harvey ripped through Texas and Louisiana, I was sitting in a session at the DMA Nonprofit Federation convention…
Here’s a great opportunity for you to significantly boost your income before the calendar changes to January 2018. It is relatively inexpensive for the amount of money it raises and ANYBODY can do it.
Once you’ve identified the right people to get your communications, the real challenge is to get your donor or prospect to open the envelope or read the email. You need to break through the clutter.
