A Premium (and Freemium) Arms Race

As for freemiums, there's been an upswing in the inclusion of coins in mailings, as noted recently in USA Today and by Kimberly Seville in the August issue of FundRaising Success. For example, Veterans of Foreign Wars spruced up its 9-year-old labels-and-notepads control by spot-gluing a nickel to the reply panel of the label sheet (Archive code #601-177353-1007). Its outline shows through the outer, and the arrowed teaser calls even more attention to it: "How can your nickel help a hero?" The letter inside makes the nickel part of the pitch — that many veterans have found themselves without "even two nickels to rub together," and asks for it to be returned with a donation.