I recently attended a presentation by Catherine Connolly. Her presentation was called Tips, Tricks, and Trends in Direct Response Fundraising. Catherine went over the different types of direct mail and response rates for various types of asks. Here is my understanding of what was presented.
1. There are three basic types of lists. Internal Prospects, Exchanging lists with other organizations, and renting lists. The response rate is 5%, !% and ¼% respectively.
2. You can expect an investment cost of $35 per name for the internal prospects up to $75 per name acquired through rented lists.
3. Direct mail is how a person learns about your organization. Send at least 6 letters a year.
4. The sooner you mail after receiving a gift the more likely the person will give again.
5. The type of mailing that gets the best response contains a letter, separate response card, and response envelop.
6. Requests that contain brochures receive a lower response that the method listed in number 5.
Interesting. What do you think?
Showing posts with label Annual Giving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Annual Giving. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Annual Giving
Annual giving typically is for current year uses such as operational costs. Most are unrestricted gifts although some organizations encourage giving to specific programs or departments. The size of the gift is not as relevant as the likelihood that the donor will continue to give each subsequent year. Annual gift programs are designed to build long term relationships that increase loyalty and donation amounts over time.
Successful annual giving programs will build the foundation for all other giving programs. They increase and develop a donor base that continues to grow over time. A look back at a constituents giving history will tell the development officer who gives steadily and at what level. This information will let you know when someone is starting to lapse in their giving and when another donor is ready to be asked for a major gift.
Annual giving programs can take many forms. The most common is a request through the mail. Phone calls and email requests are also used. All of these methods can be equally effective. What seems to be even more valuable is segmenting the constituents so that the ask can be more personalized and geared toward the donor’s interests. This take a little bit more work but as your data base grows you can send out your appeals in smaller chunks and pay more attention to the group and individuals in that group.
Successful annual giving programs will build the foundation for all other giving programs. They increase and develop a donor base that continues to grow over time. A look back at a constituents giving history will tell the development officer who gives steadily and at what level. This information will let you know when someone is starting to lapse in their giving and when another donor is ready to be asked for a major gift.
Annual giving programs can take many forms. The most common is a request through the mail. Phone calls and email requests are also used. All of these methods can be equally effective. What seems to be even more valuable is segmenting the constituents so that the ask can be more personalized and geared toward the donor’s interests. This take a little bit more work but as your data base grows you can send out your appeals in smaller chunks and pay more attention to the group and individuals in that group.
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