Oxfam America

Grueling is the word that crossed the lips of the intrepid judges for our 2006 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence as they made their way out of our offices one hot afternoon in August.

Not that we’re particularly demanding taskmasters, but the competition was, indeed, fierce. Much to our glee, it grew from 33 packages in 2005 to nearly 90 this year (sent in by 21 agencies and four nonprofit organizations). Some of the categories remained the same, but we added a few and tweaked a few others.

This mailing from Oxfam America is plain and sparse and that’s the point. Mailed blind in a No. 10 envelope, it includes a reply device, BRE, three-page 8.5-inch-by-11-inch letter, all of which are on plain white paper devoid of color save for the occasional green Oxfam America logo. The 3.75-inch-by-9-inch, six-panel brochure -- done in four-color and rife with photographs of the Third World people the organization helps -- provides the only gloss and color in the mailing. The mailing’s sparseness is meant to convey the organization’s commitment to its mission. This is revealed in the letter, which begins: “Dear Friend, Here’s what you won’t

Bernard Ross is an authority on fundraising in the nonprofit sector and an inspiring public speaker, but he wouldn’t describe himself as a motivator.

In fact, the influential 50-year-old director of the London-based Management Centre thinks the idea of motivating anyone to do anything often is nothing more than a conceit that managers harbor about themselves.

The horrific tsunami in the Indian Ocean late last year brought instant and gratifying responses from myriad governments, private donors, the military and nonprofit organizations from around the world. Among them was Oxfam America.

Oxfam America was founded in 1942 by a group of Quakers, social activists and Oxford academics who called themselves the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief in response to the plight of refugees in Greece.