After a fundraising and public relations disaster in 1993, the award-winning Marine Toys for Tots Foundation regrouped and came back stronger than ever.

By Melissa Busch

“The public can be very forgiving if you are honest with them,” he adds.

The road back
Since then, Toys for Tots’ situation has improved steadily. The organization did its research and restarted a direct-marketing campaign with the help of Maryland-based consultancy CDR Fundraising Group.

When Toys for Tots turned to CDRFG in 1997, it let the agency know that it wanted to crawl before it walked back into a direct-marketing program. CDRFG President Geoff Peters says the agency told the organization it needed to start mailing its housefile, building its donor base and acquiring new donors.