20 Direct-Marketing Ideas for Small Nonprofits, Part 3

[Editor's note: This is part 3 of a four-part series. Click here for part 1 and here for part 2.]

There are many strategies smaller nonprofits can employ to get results that mirror or even top those of the big players in the sector. In their session, "20 Big Direct Marketing Ideas for Small Nonprofits," at the 2012 Washington Nonprofit Conference, Eliza Temeles, senior account executive at MKDM; Jill Batcheller, membership manager at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; and Alicia Toles, annual giving and donor data manager at Food and Friends, shared 20 direct-response fundraising strategies tailored to smaller organizations. Here are ideas 11-15.

11. Test timing because timing is everything
Don't accept standard recommendations on timing, Batcheller said. Figure out what works best for your donors. For instance, the standard timing recommendation for sending e-mails is Tuesday and Wednesday, according to industry best practices. However, through testing the Lincoln Center found that its donors respond to e-mails the best on Thursday and Friday. In fall 2011, e-mails sent based on standard timing recommendations had a 1.88 percent response rate, while e-mails sent on Thursday and Friday during that same period had a 6.02 percent response rate for the organization.

12. Don't underestimate reinstatement
"Lots of organizations have set limits on how deeply they're willing to mail," Batcheller said. "Challenge that. Mail deeply into your lapsed donor file."

In June 2011, Lincoln Center experimented with a reinstatement mailing to lapsed donors, going as deep as 20 years lapsed. It was a way to offset budget cuts, and in order to try and re-engage these deeply lapsed donors, the center focused on its most popular benefit — open rehearsals. The offer included $150 worth of benefits with a $75 reintroduction gift.

As a result, the Lincoln Center recaptured 281 lapsed donors with a 1.41 percent overall response rate, and for donors who were lapsed for 10-20 years, the response rate was 0.69 percent. That helped boost Lincoln Center's revenue, and Batcheller said the organization will continue to mail this deeply lapsed file for as long as it produces.

"See how far you can go," she said.

13. Develop a welcome package
Acquisition is not cheap, and it brings on its own set of questions, Toles said. How will you get that second gift? When will donors give again?

To help alleviate those concerns a bit, Toles suggested sending a well-defined welcome package that lays out the next steps for new donors.

"Let the donors know the important messages they should hear next, and limit the gaps in communication between their first gift and the next ask," she said.

She provided an example from Food and Friends, whose welcome package included a letter with a thank-you note, an acknowledgment envelope with another ask, an offer to let donors choose their communications preferences from the organization, etc.

"Use the welcome package to get donors engaged. Provide them choices so they can give you more feedback on how they want to be involved," Toles said.

14. Consider a sustainer program
We've all seen the ASPCA monthly giving DRTV commercials featuring musician Sarah McLachlan. As you know, DRTV is a big investment. The reason ASPCA invests in it is because monthly giving programs are worth it — they provide steady fundraising revenue throughout the year. Of course, the ASPCA is a large organization with a big operating budget, so DRTV is feasible for it. Even if you don't have the funds to run a DRTV campaign, a monthly giving program is still an option.

"Sustainer programs can be right even with a small budget," Temeles said. "A monthly giving program gets donors more engaged and brings in a steady stream of revenue. When you solicit infrequently, you lose out on opportunities to get more gifts. Monthly giving allows you 12 gifts a year, every year, until they cancel."

Temeles shared how Friends of the High Line, a smaller organization dedicated to building and maintaining the High Line Park in New York, set up a monthly giving program and promoted it on its appeals. High Line sent an e-mail asking donors to join the monthly giving program, including information on "how your monthly pledge helps." It is also highlighted on its website, and High Line includes information and sign-up options for its monthly giving program on the reply device and inserts of its direct mail.

High Line actually launched the program in October 2011, including messaging about the sustainer program on all its efforts: acquisition, renewal, welcome kit, everywhere. The impact was incredible, Temeles said. High Line converted 2.5 percent of its file to sign up for the monthly giving program. And the annual value of monthly givers exceeded that of its typical donors. The annual value of its members is typically an average of $143; sustainers' average annual value is $211.

"Start a sustainer program, launch one, give donors the opportunity," Temeles said. "Decide what amount is right for you and your donors. When you get people giving every month, it's an easy way to increase the annual value of a donor."

15. Create specialized appeals
The Lincoln Center was trying to find ways to increase giving from donors, Batcheller said, so the organization started offering "mini-membership" programs around the theater's marquee summer performances. The idea was to give these select donors "behind-the-scenes" benefits with higher price points.

One of these special appeals was the Royal Shakespeare Co. Producers Circle membership. The offer was sent to a select group of donors with a much higher price point to get the benefits of this behind-the-scenes offer. Nineteen current and 12 lapsed donors joined this specialized program, and while 31 gifts may not seem like much, these 31 gifts alone raised $129,500 for Lincoln Center. Also, there was a huge increase from $150-plus gifts to $1,000 to $3,000 gifts for membership, Batcheller said.