Growing Donor Files: It's Time for a New Approach

Now for the most disturbing — and exciting — part: The nonprofit’s direct-mail acquisition control is a piece that the Traditional Retirees love and the Affluent Professionals don’t like much at all. In other words, we were turning off many younger (40s and 50s), more valuable donors before we even acquired them! The graphic at right helps illustrate the difference in the type of mail the Traditional Retirees like vs. the type that the Affluent Professionals like. And now that we know what the Affluent Professionals look like for this charity, we can grow the file by targeting them with the right messaging across channels and then continue that cultivation from there on.