Exploring the Endless Possibilities of Merge/Purge

Conventional wisdom says that the purpose of a merge/purge is to limit an acquisition campaign to sending a single mail piece to people who are not current donors. Yesterday's live FundRaising Success webinar, "Exploring the Endless Possibilities of Merge-Purge," explored how the impact of merge processing goes well beyond the acquisition program and how information gleaned from the process can be turned into actionable data to make more intelligent decisions around who to mail and what to mail them.

The big takeaway was that merge/purge has a new face and a new place in the fundraising world.

"In the past, merge/purge was about finding the duplicates. Now it's about finding the donors," said Martina White, senior analyst at A.B. Data. "It can help you identify the people that will be more likely to become a donor and stay a donor with modeling. "

Merge/purse also can help you mine your existing base of donors, she added, identifying best prospects for monthly giving, high-dollar programs, major-gift prospects, and other special asks and opportunities.

Co-presenter Amy Houke, list media manager at DMW Worldwide, agreed, adding that companies that offer merge/purge services increasingly are becoming more involved partners with the organizations they work with, going far beyond list deduping and focusing on how organizations can get the most out of the names on their files.

"You're paying for the service anyway; you might as well use the information in every way you can," she said. Merge/purge isn't about just subtracting anymore; now it's about adding. The key is to work closely with your list manager partner to make sure you get the best use out of the information."

But the webinar wasn't just about the changing role of merge/purge in nonprofit fundraising.

White, along with fellow presenter Grecthen Littlefield, president of Infogroup Nonprofit, listed these 10 ideas to take away from their part of the presentation.