Reflections on 10 Years (October 2006)

FundRaising Success published its first issue in November 2003, which makes this our 10-year anniversary year. To celebrate, we’ll be taking a look back at past issues throughout the year. Following are some words of wisdom culled from the October 2006 issue.

From Jennifer Donahue, then-membership director, NARAL Pro-Choice America (cover story, “Fearless Fundraising”):

• “For those segments that are brought on with a specific message, if they’re not responding to our appeals messages, which are usually issues-based, we’re trying to go back and bring them back into a frequent-donor status by touching them with what brought them on the file in the first place.”
• “Again and again it comes down to that institutional message. Instead of our revenue fluctuating up and down, whether it’s an electoral presidential cycle or an off-year election, we see that revenue growth continue to slowly ratchet up, and I think that can be directly attributed to our commitment to the acquisition and reinstatement program.”

From Stephanie Kushner, then-director of development, NARAL Pro-Choice America (cover story, “Fearless Fundraising”):

• “When I first came to NARAL Pro-Choice America, we were mailing our major donors on a quarterly basis and, overall, raising probably less than half of what we raise overall from our major donors today. When we developed the direct-response program, we played with mailing as many as once a month to mailing every other month and some combination thereof. And so we’re constantly looking for ways to not overwhelm our major donors but also recognizing that, like the lower-dollar contributors, it often takes several mailings, and you don’t always know which one it is that’s going to inspire them to give.”

From Tim Burgess, co-founder, The Domain Group (Because It Matters column, “Newsletters Done Right”):

• “Work hard to maintain a donor orientation. Ask yourself, ‘What do our donors want to know today?’ Speak about their values and beliefs, and how your organization shares the same values and beliefs. Work equally hard to resist the temptation to shift to an organization orientation. You’ll know you’ve succumbed to this temptation if your newsletter is filled with articles and photographs about your board of directors, your president, your building, your internal management structure or processes, or your work methodology. Most donors care very little about these internal matters; they want to know what you’ve done with their gifts to accomplish what you said you would accomplish. Period.”
• “Newsletters sent to all active donors can do what the typical appeal letter can’t (and shouldn’t) do — educate, nurture and affirm, and report specific accomplishments. As a bonus, newsletters also are excellent fundraising tools.”

From Hal Malchow, political direct-mail strategist (feature, “Different Party, Different Tactic”):

• “Mail for Republican candidates and Republican Party mail tends to be negative. I have almost never seen a reply card in a Republican mailing without the word ‘liberal Democrats.’ On the whole, positive mail performs better for Democrats. There are exceptions. During the 2004 presidential elections, a very negative mailing about George W. Bush was the top performer of the year. But, generally, Democratic donors respond better to positive messaging.”
• “Almost no undecided voters give. A fundraising letter might inform someone about a candidate, but it’s unlikely to move them all the way from neutral to actually giving a donation. Most givers already support the candidate or the party. Most are probably just waiting to be asked.”