Fundamentals of Donor Retention

“Very few send in the postcard, but it lets them know we let them have a say and we care about them,” Jones said.

There is no ask on the postcard. It’s more of an engagement piece to help build the relationship with the new donor.

The next mailing in the series is the child survival appeal, the top-performing appeal for CARE. It asks donors to give that second (or third) gift right up front, beginning on the outer envelope and continuing inside. It highlights how giving leads to feeding the hungry, taking a more functional tone — describing how gifts are used, providing a matching-gift element, personalization, etc.