Direct Marketing Association

The DMA Nonprofit Federation’s popular Critical Issues event, which usually takes place in Washington, D.C., each spring, is taking on a new form this year and becoming a webinar.

Many nonprofits are feeling the impact of the financial crisis — in particular those reliant on corporate gifts. Others are bracing themselves for challenging conditions. In difficult economic times, it can be a natural reaction to stop all new investments. Yet, building strong constituent relationships and acquiring new donors to replenish losses is more important than ever.

Nonprofits must adopt a strategic approach to their fundraising investments, cutting less efficient areas and investing where gains can be realized. The traditional fundraising model has been in decline for some time. The financial crisis and competition for donor dollars has heightened the imperative to change models today, re-allocating investment from waning traditional fundraising approaches to new approaches that incorporate the online channel.

Click here to check out the results of The Agitator’s Vital Signs survey about fundraising expectations for the balance of 2008. Bridge Conference Call for Papers Deadline Extended Those who want to speak or sit on a panel at the 2009 Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference this July have a little bit more time to submit their applications. The call for papers deadline has been extended to Dec. 1. Industry experts interested in lectures or panels that include case or industry studies on the current trends in production and graphics, analyses of giving, audience buying, or donor demographics and behaviors are

News From the Bridge Conference, Oct. 6 (Washington, D.C.) Plans are now under way for the fourth annual Bridge Conference, and the educational teams are starting now to recruit speakers and panels. The conference will once again be co-hosted by the Direct Marketing Association of Washington and the Washington D.C. Metro Area Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and sessions will support the educational missions unique to and shared by each group. Dynamic presenters wanted! If you’re willing to share your expertise next summer as a speaker or panelist, please let the conference planners know. We’re interested in lectures or panels that

News From the Bridge Conference, Oct. 6 (Washington, D.C.) Plans are now under way for the fourth annual Bridge Conference, and the educational teams are starting now to recruit speakers and panels. The conference will once again be co-hosted by the Direct Marketing Association of Washington and the Washington D.C. Metro Area Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, and sessions will support the educational missions unique to and shared by each group. Dynamic presenters wanted! If you’re willing to share your expertise next summer as a speaker or panelist, please let the conference planners know. We’re interested in lectures or panels that

Forty-five minutes and $240 can change a child’s life forever. That’s about how long it takes and how much it costs for Operation Smile to fix one child’s cleft lip. The organization has been fixing smiles and changing lives for more than 25 years. The worldwide medical charity, based in Norfolk, Va., has been providing free surgery to children in developing countries who were born with facial deformities since it was founded by Dr. William P. Magee Jr., a plastic surgeon, and his wife, Kathleen, a nurse and clinical social worker, in 1982. With the help of a crew

As with any new industry, the early days of online fundraising were filled with both success and failure. Some organizations quickly found a new stream of revenue … while others found themselves struggling to get out of that black hole known as the spam filter.

While a recent study by the Direct Marketing Association’s Email Experience Council found online retailers do a great job of honoring unsubscribe requests quickly, it also found they could improve their opt-out processes, such as by providing subscribers with alternatives to opting out or at least lowering the barriers to doing so. The study — EEC’s first Retail Email Unsubscribe Benchmark Study — examines the opt-out practices of 94 of the largest online retailers tracked via RetailEmail.Blogspot, EEC’s blog that tracks the e-mail marketing campaigns of e-tailers. Chad White, the author of the study and EEC’s director of retail insights, and editor-at-large and

In “Star Wars Episode IV,” Luke Skywalker struggles to convince Han Solo to help him save Princess Leia, stuck in the detention block on the Death Star. “But they’re going to kill her!” Han Solo’s cold response? “Better her than me.” So Luke changes tack, and after a beat says, “She’s rich.” Han Solo comes back with, “How rich?” Encouraged, Luke blurts out, “More money than you can imagine.” Han smiles, saying, “I don’t know, I can imagine quite a bit.” You know the rest of the story: Han opts in, Luke and Han take some significant risks, the Princess is rescued, and then

What comes to mind when you hear the words, “The breakfast of champions”? What if I said, “Don’t leave home without it”? How about, “Just do it”? If you’re like most people, you’ll quickly reply, Wheaties, American Express and Nike. And therein lies the power of a good tagline. Power that also is available to nonprofits: strong words.