Direct Mail (Less Than $10 Million): City Harvest and Good Counsel Homes

Neither the art nor the outer immediately grabs you, and the judges were concerned about its “open me” factor — or seemingly lack thereof. But the response rate was great, so we knew there was something special waiting inside.

And there was. The contents were as unassuming as the outer, but the letter was outstanding:

“I knew I had to break the news to our mothers that we might have to close their home — but the words just weren’t coming to me.

“It was a warm fall night outside, but I suddenly felt a chill.

“We had done all we could to keep the doors open …”

The letter from Executive Director Christopher Bell continues, explaining the dire straights in which the organization had found itself — it was so bad that Bell had to explain to a number of women in need that one of the organization’s homes had to be closed.

The letter also relies on a deadline and a specific amount needed — $150,000 by Oct. 15 to avoid closing another home — to up the urgency factor.

These two packages are terrific examples of playing to your strengths to get your supporters’ attention, and the results bear that out.