And the Winners Are …

Another key to its success is the reply device, called, in this case, a “Meal Ticket Contribution Form.” Attached to the form are six perforated meal coupons that correspond with the ask string and illustrate what the different donation amounts will provide, e.g., “1 Week: I have enclosed $36, the cost of one week of kosher food and friendship for a home-bound Jewish elder.”

Each ticket shows an illustration of a bag to represent each week of food the donation will provide. Recipients are asked to indicate their donation amount on the ask string, place the removable sticker from the carrier envelope on the coupon that matches their donation amount and send the complete form back to DOROT.

Our judges were pleased with both the involvement device and straightforward way in which the ask string spelled out what each gift amount would buy.

“Placing the sticker on the outer envelope raised the response rate by 30 percent by grabbing the prospect’s attention and increasing open rates,” wrote William Li, account assistant at Lautman & Co., who submitted the package. “By connecting the ask amount with the number of meals, the meal tickets increased the average gift by $8.56.

“Overall, the introduction of this new package has increased the profitability of DOROT’s direct-mail fundraising program by enabling them to acquire new donors at a net profit — something that is difficult for any organization to do, let alone one that has mailed for many years into a limited regional market,” he concluded.

Acquisition (Fewer Than 50,000 Mailed)

Habitat for Humanity A Measure of Compassion Acquisition Package
Submitted by Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co.

Numbers
Number of Recipients: 25,000
Total Income Generated: $18,490
Average Gift: $37.20
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $11,734
Response Rate: 1.99 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.63 cost to raise $13.59 net per donor