A well-executed cartoon can intrigue potential donors right into your direct-mail package.

By Stu Heinecke

The problem is, working with humor is like working with plutonium. If it’s not handled just so, it can have the destructive power of an atom bomb. Humor done well can inspire and prompt people to act in record numbers. Humor done poorly will surely inspire contempt — and vaporize your campaign results, just as the experts have always promised.