Conference Corner: Mining for New Donors: Think Outside Your Universe

Acquisition means bringing in new donors, as many as possible. But with donor-list universes shrinking and the cost of acquisition rising, fundraisers are left in quite a quandary.

Chris Ragusa, CFRE, president of New Rochelle, N.Y.-based Estee Marketing Group, advises to test non-donor files that are similar to your donor profile, e.g., age, income level, interests, etc. Many nonprofits have found success with magazine and catalog files, merchandise-buyer lists and enhanced-response databases.