Demystifying Exchanges

Determine how many times per month or year you're willing to turn your file. While evaluating a client's renewal rates, we found that revenue and response had significantly dropped. Upon further examination, we realized that their exchange file of 144,000 active donors had been turned over 46 times in one year. Their own donors were being barraged with so much mail from other organizations, it started to depress their own results. When starting an exchange program it's better to lean toward the conservative side and limit the number of times your file is given out. Each organization must develop a strategy that is appropriate for their internal culture.