An Unkind Cut?

Coming in to the organization around the time of this success but seeing an opportunity to increase response, Elise Ravenscroft, development director for ACA, suggested a test: the current newsletter mailing with a cut-out reply device versus a newsletter mailed with a 3.5-inch-by-8.5-inch free-floating reply device in addition to the cut-out inside the newsletter. On one side of the free-floating reply was the general, one-time gift string, while the other side gave donors the option to receive information on workplace giving; donating property or stock; including ACA in their estate planning; and joining ACA’s monthly giving program. The revenue the newsletter control mailing was generating was great and the response excellent, but Ravenscroft’s theory was that forcing recipients to cut out a portion of the newsletter was actually deterring response because they wanted to keep it intact.