Direct Mail in the Non-Profit World

Every non-profit organization that relies on individual donors practices some form of Direct Mail fundraising. After all, there is a limit to how much information you can convey to your donors face-to-face, by phone, or over the internet. Click here to see one of our cost saving formats in action.

Fundraising letters are:

·        the single biggest means used by non-profits to recruit non-donors

·        proved the means for most donors to make that first gift

·        the vehicle to become a member of a non-profit organization

Direct Mail is complicated, costly and requires incredible attention to detail. Direct mail fundraising is a process not an event.

Your Mailing List

Take your existing donor file and expand it by modeling your donors and choosing households with similar characteristics. Knowing your customer profile is the key to acquiring new donors. Once you have completed this task, we can help you identify contributors to many other non profit organizations. Category selections include:

The Offer
These are some of the “ask” campaigns that can be sent throughout the year:

Offers can be address labels or gifts or fundraisers and events to encourage contributions. These should be tested with each mailing.

Segmentation
Segmenting previous donors from prospects, big givers from little donors and treating the largest donors even more differently is the key to cost-effective appeals.

Annual Giving
Successful Direct Mail fundraising is built on the foundation of annual giving. The renewal series is the basic element - using a series of 3, 5 or more successive contacts with each member to persuade the largest number to renew each year. Testing is key in order to quantify how many pieces you need to mail to get the results you are seeking.

Creative
How do you represent your agency, what do you tell prospective donors that will appeal to them and want to donate? How much $ do you ask for? Do you promise something in return for the gift? Long letter, short letter? Color photos vs. black + white? Should you match that photo on the envelope? Meter-Made Marketing can provide you with professional assistance.

Coding and Record Keeping
With testing lists and creative packages, it’s important to code each record so you can analyze your results after each mailing.

All the advantages of good Direct Mail are lost if you can’t keep track of what you're doing. Key-coding the different segments on the response card will ensure that you keep good records.

Production Management
We’re your Direct Mail partners. From tried and true methods to new creative pieces, we’ll review it to make sure it conforms to the most up-to-date postal guidelines.

This brief synopsis is meant to give you a starting off point, so you can knowledgeable about the many factors that go into a successful Direct Mail campaign.

To be successful, you need to commit to an on-going program. Always remember…

Direct Mail is a process - it's not an event.