On Any Given Day
The day's take was a little smaller than average, just seven pieces. Two stood out from the rest for the sole reason they were not white — one a No. 9, closed-face, ivory outer with a gold foil-embossed corner card, and the other a 6-inch-by-9.5-inch special window with four-color printing on glossy stock. Of the five white packages, the mix included a 6-inch-by-9-inch closed face, a 6-inch-by-9.5-inch right window and three double-window No. 10s — one of which turned out to be quite providential.
When offers collide
The ivory No. 9 contained The Heritage Foundation's fancy Certificate of Appreciation with a gold-foil seal and a small sheet of stickers for me to affix my chosen membership level. It's a solid offer that's only downsides are that the certificate is folded in thirds and it's just slightly too big for a standard 8-inch-by-10-inch picture frame. Folding it lessens its perceived value, and the size makes it difficult to hang it, as requested.
Washington National Cathedral's certificate offer delivered flat and is quite attractive — if not as flashy as Heritage's — and it came with the same hope that I would display it proudly in my home. But measuring 8.5-inches-by-5.375 inches, it shares Heritage's problem of being not easily framed. In spite of that, however, it's a classic and well-executed offer.
Offers colliding in the mail is not necessarily a disaster unless, say, similar-looking boxed note cards from several different nonprofits were to all arrive on the same day. In this case, though, the offers are each strong in their own right. The two packages look completely different, and the case for support in each is unique.
A classic smash-up
Two of the white No. 10s had corner-card windows personalized with the name of my city titling a local area drive: in WETA's case, an annual membership drive in my community, and for Wounded Warrior Project, a local area fund drive for injured troops.
Both are familiar controls, and the local area drive is a workhorse offer for many mailers, often in a double-window outer. Chances are they'll hit donors' mailboxes at the same time once in a while like these two did.
But that's OK, because even though the day's mail might be overwhelmingly basic white and pretty boring overall, package by package it was a reminder that more often than not "plain and simple" works in the mail.
A piece of providence
The third white No. 10 double window, proved that sometimes direct-mail coincidence can end up doing good without even trying — because as word of the earthquake in Haiti dominated the news that night, a timeless renewal offer from a renowned international emergency first responder was in my hands.
Médecins Sans Frontières/ Doctors Without Borders' 2010 Supporter Card offer briefly recaps the nonprofit's mission and purpose with an insert describing specifically how my support last year helped treat a widespread cholera outbreak, helped displaced victims of conflict battle a deadly meningitis outbreak and treated thousands of malnourished children.
Nowhere in the package is Haiti mentioned, but it doesn't matter. The pre-addressed reply envelope becomes a handy collection device in that moment.
When it's no fluke
The happenstance of MSF's renewal arriving on the same day as the earthquake hit aside, it's no accident that the organization is so successful in its fundraising.
In the weeks following the Jan. 12 earthquake, I received emergency solicitations for Haitian relief from a variety of nonprofits. I found much of the copy to be so vague that anyone could be saying it. For example: "Amid this devastation, destruction and heartache, [our] emergency response team works tirelessly to provide the emergency relief for the people of Haiti that is so desperately needed right now."
I reviewed several letters that read entirely like that, sadly. And while I'm sure the copy raised money in spite of itself, given the enormity of the disaster, I believe it's creatively shallow and a disservice to donors.
In sharp contrast, MSF's appeal a few weeks after the disaster is quite specific, with quality details. Like how, because three hospitals were severely damaged and had to be evacuated, it set up clinics in tents in the first 24 hours to treat crushed limbs, open fractures, head traumas and burns: "On the grounds of our damaged Trinité trauma hospital, surgery took place in an improvised operating theater in a converted shipping container."
"Within 48 hours, we had dispatched seven cargo planes containing over 125 tons of supplies, including a 100-bed inflatable field hospital, hospitalization tents, medicine and supplies …"
Then, the heartbreakingly personal, "A number of our Haitian staff and their families did not survive the devastation."
"Public parks are packed with men, women and children with nowhere to go. We are very concerned that the widespread lack of water and sanitation could lead to an outbreak of disease, causing more suffering and further overwhelming the medical situation."
The powerful descriptions capture every donor's desire to know what's needed specifically and exact- ly how gifts make a difference.
Finally, with the reminder that throughout the world there is a constant need for humanitarian medical aid, without ever making an overt ask, the package does a fully transparent job of raising undesignated funds.
And MSF/Doctors Without Borders' effort is no fluke — it's a model to learn from, even if your mission has nothing to do with disaster relief or humanitarian aid. FS
