2012 DMFA Acquisition Package of the Year: Covenant House Paint Can Appeal

"The goal was to connect with the prospect's emotions, and then sell the cause later," says Tom Gaffny, principal of Tom Gaffny Consulting, who worked on the package along with Wilson & Associates.

Over the years, Covenant House tested hundreds of stories about the homeless children it has helped. In the early 1980s, the organization decided to collect all of the stories in a book and mail it as a premium in acquisition — a premium that truly connects prospects emotionally to the mission. Then in 1991, a girl came to Covenant House holding a paint can containing her mother's ashes, a heart-wrenching story that represents everything Covenant House stands for. Thus, the "paint can" acquisition package was born, with the letter relaying the story of this young girl and the book included as a premium.