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

To keep its costs down, Toys for Tots maintains a staff of just 13, with only one position dedicated to development.

“We make it work because we have thousands of volunteers,” Osman says.

A winning strategy
The Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation named Toys for Tots its Nonprofit Organization of the Year in 2003 for developing a successful direct-marketing campaign that provided significant returns, including a direct-mail campaign that increased contributions approximately 75 percent in the previous five years.