20 Direct-Marketing Ideas for Small Nonprofits, Part 1

3. Personalize strategically
"Think about when and where to focus your attention with personalization," Batcheller said. "We all have limited time and resources, so we can't focus on everything all the time."

She shared two examples where the Lincoln Center tested personalization. In the first example, the organization added personalized giving amounts and membership information on its renewal e-mail landing page. Prior to the landing page renovation, the renewal e-mail had a 24.8 percent open rate, 7.5 percent clickthrough rate and 3.1 percent response rate. After the renovation, those numbers jumped to a 31.9 percent open rate, 8.1 percent clickthrough rate and 4.6 percent response rate, which led to a 48 percent increase in the number of gifts thanks to the increased personalization.