An Interview With Emelie Irving, Executive Director, Southeast Texas Food Bank

Her advice for smaller nonprofits that need to spread their fundraising wings?

"Direct mail works. There's a reason why so many people do it," she says. "But don't try to do it in-house if you're a small nonprofit without the skill and expertise to be able to do the testing, the marketing, the creative work, to know where to purchase a list. There's a whole science that goes into direct marketing. Don't try to do it on the cheap."