Anyone who works in direct mail donor development can tell you that it’s a challenge to find ways to bring in new donors while operating under an ever-tightening budget. With so many organizations mailing to the same lists of donors, fewer new lists being brought to the market and expenses always on the rise, creativity and willingness to take calculated risks will help you reach your new donor goals.
Many organizations that have poorly performing files are not adequately investing in new lists, resulting in meager prospect-response rates and low new-donor retention rates, writes Margaret Guellich, CFRE, senior director of development for the American Life League, in her new booklet, “Reviving Your Donor File: Prescription for a Healthy Direct Marketing Plan.” The booklet recently was released as the fourth in the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Ready Reference Series.
You can have the most deserving cause and a highly compelling appeal, but your direct mail is going to be wasted if it’s sent to the wrong lists. That’s why, for any direct mail fundraising campaign, the list is the most important element within the nonprofit organization’s control — that, according to Mal Warwick, chairman of Mal Warwick & Associates Inc., Berkeley, CA.
