Engage Conference Spotlight: A Horse of a Different Color

On April 10, FundRaising Success is hosting its second annual Engage Conference. Engage is the only case-study-focused fundraising conference focusing on the keys to success from organizations that have successfully made the leap from just-getting-by nonprofits to powerhouse organizations. Leading up to Engage, we will be highlighting content from the participating organizations and speakers that we've published over the years.

The catalog is a direct-mail classic, and over the years nonprofit organizations have mailed catalogs as fundraising appeals. They may not be as prevalent as they were in the days of lower postage costs and better economic times, but there are myriad examples of fundraisers utilizing the catalog technique.

In January 2006, Angel Aloma, executive director of Food For The Poor, spoke to FundRaising Success about his organization's use of catalogs to past donors and prospects through which they can purchase goats, chickens, cows and other farm/ranch animals as a donation to a needy family, most often in Third World countries.

Aloma calls such donations "abstract gifts" — gifts made in honor of friends or family members, who receive cards announcing that donations were made in their names.

Aloma will help present the Food For The Poor case study at Engage, as well as facilitate the "Building and Maintaining Passion in Your Fundraising Team" roundtables.

To learn more about the Engage Conference, click here. And to register, click here and enter the discount code: FSNews25