Many smaller non-profits think their list is too small to afford a direct mail campaign. Technology is our friend and now with proper planning it is possible to deliver a great fundraising appeal and get great results even if your list size is not large.
This package not only looked great, but it succeeded in raising the $60,000 goal with an 8% response rate. With a list size of under 900, one might think you are pretty limited, but with some design tricks we developed this 6 x 9 envelope package and kept the production cost under $1,400.
The strategies we used to raise $60,000 in a one month
- It is all about the envelope baby! We used converted colored envelopes to save money while making a big impact. We had to be careful about how we designed them, but because they were color they leapt out of the mailbox.
- Who doesn’t want a free gift. The blue inserts are actually black and white photo copies on colored paper. A gift doesn’t have to be big or random (like reply address labels). These prayer guides aligned with the mission of the organization and made recipients feel good about reciprocating the generosity. Even if this doesn’t result in a gift, it plants seeds that could sprout in the future.
- Reply cards were personalized. I still see so many appeals requiring donors to fill out address. Even if the argument could be made that most will give online anyway, it doesn’t hold much water. If you are personalizing with contact information it takes almost nothing to make the messaging on the reply device personal. In this appeal, new donors are asked differently than prospective donors, monthly donors are asked differently than one-time donors. Personalization is proven to improve your response. Use it to get better results.
- Strong sense of urgency. The match gift provided the incentive to act and helps donors who think their gift is too small feel like their gift will go farther.
Don’t limit your match gifts potential
I have seen too many match gifts that are exclusively for new donations. New donors are wonderful to report on, but the downside is that they can unintentionally penalizes current donors.
Because monthly gifts are the gifts that keep on coming – we tripled the match for new monthly donors. 23% of those who responded joined or increased their monthly gift with a very health 22% of our current monthly givers increasing their monthly gift. Who says direct mail doesn’t impact online donors?
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See more images of this appeal and other examples by visiting our portfolio.
Want to see your next campaigns get better results? A conversation is free, contact Jeffery James or at least join our free Inspire Network below and get more branding ideas and inspiration.
