And the Winners Are...

Wow! Who ever thought the Gold Awards could be so exciting? The sun was setting on judgement day, and we had a tie for Package of the Year.

A first! So, I polled our four judges — Steve Froehlich, director of development analytics at the ASPCA; Tim O’Leary, vice president of McPherson Associates; Paul Bobnak, director of North American Publishing Co.’s Who’s Mailing What! Archive; and FS Senior Editor Abny Santicola. After some soul searching and spirited debate, they weighed in: two for one package and the other two for the other package.

Another tie!

Then I enlisted Target Marketing Group President Peggy Hatch and another innocent bystander. They holed themselves up in Peggy’s office and emerged with … another tie.

That’s when it became clear that we just were meant to have a dual award for Package of the Year.

Actually, it’s kind of cool since one of our winners comes from a huge organization with the power of multiple agencies behind it, and the other is from a much smaller group. It’s a perfect example of the marvelous diversity to be found in the fundraising sector.

As far as income goes, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières’ “Saving Lives, One Child at a Time” package had bigger figures overall, of course. But the fact that the little “All That Jazz” mailing from KCSM radio in San Francisco could elicit as much passion as the heart-breaking behemoth from MSF makes it a major player well worth the shared distinction.

We’d like to say congratulations to all of our winners, and a warm thank you to everyone who entered.

PACKAGE OF THE YEAR (TIE)
No. 1 and Winner, Renewal (Fewer Than 50,000)

KCSM RADIO
“All That Jazz”
Submitted by Goodman Marketing Partners

Numbers
Number of Recipients: 19,490
Total Income Generated: $332,200
Average Gift: $92.45
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $11,885
Response Rate: 18.43 percent

Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.03

Of the 66 radio stations in the San Francisco/Bay Area, KCSM is one of only four focused exclusively on jazz. But there’s something even more special about it: It owns the third-largest jazz collection in the world.

A few years ago, when KCSM found itself with a direct-mail program in decline and set to work to create a program that would build strong relationships with existing and lapsed members with the goal of increasing response rates and contributions, it decided to center its program around that collection, and positioned itself and its on-air hosts as infinite sources of jazz knowledge.

The organization sent three No. 10 packages in a row to those on its list, with outer envelopes featuring simple, jazz-themed clip art and teasers like, “What is your jazz IQ? Take this test to find out” and, “Access one of the largest collections in the world.” Each package included a slightly different two-page letter and a universal reply device. And each featured a jazz-focused question such as, “Who said, ‘What we play is life?’” and a list of multiple-choice answers.

The letters were written by popular station disc jockey Alisa Clancy and convey the mailings’ intent in a friendly, familiar voice. In them, she informs recipients that KCSM houses the third-largest jazz collection in the world, but that it needs funds to maintain the collection. She breaks down the membership cost of $40 a year to 10 cents a day and offers multiple giving options: mail in the reply device, go online or call an 800-number.

Clancy urges recipients to jot song requests and any other feedback in a space on the back of the reply device. Also included in each package is a 3.5-inch-by-8-inch glossy, multiple-choice jazz quiz. It includes the answers and gives recipients titles based on how they do — Jazz Genius and Jazz Jammer, for example. For those who get three or fewer correct, the verdict is, “Time to tune into KCSM-FM.”

KCSM mailed an oversized postcard to those who didn’t respond to any of the No. 10 packages. The postcard is a definite change, not just because of its size, but also because it features a detachable, peel-off mouse pad branded with KCSM’s call letters and Web URL.

This mailing is a great example of an organization pinpointing what makes it unique and hinging everything from the creative to the call to action on that one point.

From Steve Froehlich: “The costs [of this mailing] were surprising for such a small print quantity, and the 30:1 ROI leaves others ‘blue’ with envy.” [Editor’s Note: Oh, Steve.]

PACKAGE OF THE YEAR (TIE)
No. 2 and Winner, Renewal (50,000 Mailed and More)

DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES
“Saving Lives, One Child at a Time”
Submitted by L.W. Robbins Associates

Numbers
Number of Recipients: 664,148
Total Income Generated: $4,556,105
Average Gift: $123.36
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $293,000
Response Rate: 5.56 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.064

Stunning. That’s the only way to describe this package. It’s not surprising that Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières would create such a stand-out. Its submissions for this year’s — and previous years’ — awards have demonstrated the organization’s and its partner agency’s prowess at developing packages with just the right combination of creative, offer and messaging.

Rather, it’s stunning because the elements range from very plain (a 6-inch-by-9-inch white envelope devoid of any teasers or graphics) to absolutely breathtaking (the brochure that conveys the gravity of MSF’s mission), and combine to create an intensely emotional experience.

The focus of the mailing is malnutrition. Included in the envelope is MSF’s standard reply device, with a lasered ask string, and a section below the detachable reply that aligns gift amounts with services the organization provides. It also features a paragraph-long story from an MSF field worker talking about her experiences, and a photograph of the worker holding a malnourished child.

A one-page letter is written in faux-handwriting font and signed by an MSF doctor. The letter’s message adds to the personal feel, relaying another doctor’s first-hand experiences. He describes the children’s famished bodies but goes on to report that thanks to donor support, MSF can treat and cure them.

A 5.25-inch-by-8-inch, matte-finish, six-panel brochure on malnutrition features the striking, branded black-and-red MSF color scheme and is laid out like a news bulletin, showing riveting black-and-white photographs of malnourished children with headlines like “Niger: Battle Between Life and Death,” with updates on MSF work in Niger, Sahiba and Amin. The brochure also describes the process for treating children suffering from malnutrition and features a pie chart that shows how MSF distributes donated funds.

The most powerful element, though, is a 5.25-inch-by-8-inch insert on sturdy stock that has a 1-inch-wide hole in the center. On one side of the insert in reverse type on a black background it reads, “Can you put your arm through this hole?” When flipped, the other side of the insert answers: “A child dying of starvation can.”

Got goosebumps? Yeah, so did we.

From Tim O’Leary: “If you can go through this package without getting emotional, check your pulse.”

ACQUISITION (50,000 Mailed and More)
DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS/MÉDECINS SANS FRONTIÈRES

“World Map” Acquisition Package
Submitted by L.W. Robbins Associates

Numbers
Number of Recipients: 2,400,033
Total Income Generated: $2,157,823
Average Gift: $69.88
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $1,224,016
Response Rate: 1.29 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.57

This mailing shows the power of a unique freemium and the importance of teasing it on the outer envelope. The 6-inch-by-9.5-inch outer is plain white and sparse, save for the teaser that appears just above the poly address window. It reads “Your Free World Map Enclosed” and delivers a map as impressive as it is large.

Unfolded, the map is 20 inches by 32.25 inches, printed on strong paper and exquisitely branded. One side of the poster features a map of the world with red boxes denoting locations where Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières operates. The other side highlights the work the organization is doing in a few specific areas — Colombia, Sudan, Angola, Chechnya and South Asia. For each location there’s a photograph showing MSF workers caring for the affected local population and a two-paragraph description of the problems that region is facing and what the organization is doing to help. This side of the poster also discusses MSF’s financial accountability, depicting it with a pie chart; and the poster as a whole shows the organization’s Web URL three times.

The mailing also includes a reply device with an ask string and a corresponding description of what each donation amount will help MSF accomplish. A one-page letter explains the call to action and includes a P.S. asking recipients to display the map prominently. Two letter-sized lift notes serve as testimonials. One reminds recipients that the organization was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1999 for its international humanitarian work, while the other announces MSF has received the highest ratings from charity watchdogs Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy, and was listed as one of “America’s 100 Best Charities” by Worth magazine.

If there’s something MSF failed to do right in this mailing, our judges couldn’t find it.

From Steve Froehlich: “If it wasn’t for the almost unbelievable average gift MSF reports for this campaign, the package cost of $500/M would be unacceptable. … Mailers would be smart to examine its package for ideas on how to give their own acquisition mailings a boost.”

ACQUISITION
(Fewer Than 50,000 Mailed)

SAN ANTONIO HOSPITAL FOUNDATION
“Help Us Solve This Puzzle” Package
Submitted by San Antonio Hospital Foundation

Numbers
Number of Recipients: 10,000
Total Income Generated: $120,000
Average Gift: $2,162
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $24,648
Response Rate: 0.46 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.21

Lumpy mail is hard to resist. The temptation to know what’s inside an envelope with varying terrain can push even the most resistant direct-mail recipients to open it. This package proves that fact.

The 6-inch-by-9-inch outer envelope looks simple enough at first glance: plain white save the San Antonio Hospital Foundation logo in the return address spot, and the teaser “You are a piece of our puzzle” above an image of a puzzle piece.

But holding the package, it’s clear there’s something inside. What the thousands of recipients that responded to this mailing found when they opened it was a letter, reply device, BRE and a plastic bag containing six puzzle pieces.

What’s it all about? The letter explains, beginning with the headline, “Without You This Puzzle Will Never Come Together.” San Antonio Hospital needs a new ER, one that puts all of the pieces vital to serving the community together to form a complete facility. When assembled, the puzzle pieces show an artist’s rendering of the new ER and patient tower the SAHF is raising funds to build, and a headline that repeats the mailing’s theme: “With Your Help We Can Solve The Puzzle.”

The puzzle is a powerful, interactive metaphor that immediately engages recipients and demonstrates the need for their financial support in making the puzzle a reality.

The goal of the campaign was $50,000, and the ask was no small amount — a donation of at least $200 to become a member of the San Antonio Society — and the package cost twice as much as the foundation usually spends on its direct-mail appeals. But it paid off, raising double its target amount and then some.

From Tim O’Leary: “This package proves that spending more can result in huge dividends for the organization. The use of the puzzle is a fantastic interactive way to tie a premium back to the message.”

SPECIAL APPEAL

CITY HARVEST
2006 Year End Holiday Appeal
Submitted by Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co.

Numbers
Number of Recipients: 77,910
Total Income Generated: $408,853
Average Gift: $84.65
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $21,659
Response Rate: 6.2 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.05

This mailing takes a personal approach, thanking donors and using a unique style of client testimonial to demonstrate the importance of the work it does.

A simple package mailed in a 5.25-inch-by-7.25-inch envelope, it includes just a reply device, a thank-you card and an interactive bounceback for donations made in honor of others.

What stands out most is the “child” presence throughout, with children’s drawings depicting City Harvest’s work. The outer envelope features an illustration of the City Harvest logo and, next to it, stick-figure people eating from a bowl filled with fruit and vegetables. The outside of the thank-you card and bounceback show a crayon drawing of a City Harvest truck driving through a city.

These images convey beyond words City Harvest’s mission and the importance of the call to action in the reply: to not let “another child go to bed hungry this holiday season.”

The mailing doesn’t include a letter, but the thank-you card serves as a fitting replacement during the holiday season. The inside of the card features the illustration used on the outer envelope, except here the food in the bowl is brought to life with color. Three paragraphs of copy describe City Harvest’s client population — working families, seniors, children — and thank recipients for their kindness and support. The thank-you card ends with the following lasered signature: The Board and staff of City Harvest. It’s not handwritten, but it adds just the right personal touch to an appeal that’s already incredibly moving.

From Steve Froehlich: “In the middle of judging this package, I felt compelled to write a check on the spot.”

SPECIAL APPEAL

CITY HARVEST
2006 Year End Holiday Appeal
Submitted by Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co.

Numbers
Number of Recipients: 77,910
Total Income Generated: $408,853
Average Gift: $84.65
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $21,659
Response Rate: 6.2 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.05

This mailing takes a personal approach, thanking donors and using a unique style of client testimonial to demonstrate the importance of the work it does.

A simple package mailed in a 5.25-inch-by-7.25-inch envelope, it includes just a reply device, a thank-you card and an interactive bounceback for donations made in honor of others.

What stands out most is the “child” presence throughout, with children’s drawings depicting City Harvest’s work. The outer envelope features an illustration of the City Harvest logo and, next to it, stick-figure people eating from a bowl filled with fruit and vegetables. The outside of the thank-you card and bounceback show a crayon drawing of a City Harvest truck driving through a city.

These images convey beyond words City Harvest’s mission and the importance of the call to action in the reply: to not let “another child go to bed hungry this holiday season.”

The mailing doesn’t include a letter, but the thank-you card serves as a fitting replacement during the holiday season. The inside of the card features the illustration used on the outer envelope, except here the food in the bowl is brought to life with color. Three paragraphs of copy describe City Harvest’s client population — working families, seniors, children — and thank recipients for their kindness and support. The thank-you card ends with the following lasered signature: The Board and staff of City Harvest. It’s not handwritten, but it adds just the right personal touch to an appeal that’s already incredibly moving.

From Steve Froehlich: “In the middle of judging this package, I felt compelled to write a check on the spot.”

GRAND CONTROL OF THE YEAR

Make-A-Wish Foundation
The Make-A-Wish Foundation’s current control has been in the mail since November 2003. It’s a different offer from the organization’s previous mailings. Make-A-Wish’s other grand control is a rather lifeless mailing, lacking a personal story and relying on an insert for several one-paragraph profiles and photographs. Other efforts have focused on a specific wish a child had and included kids’ art — but they didn’t last very long.

The letter is the key to the success of this mailing because it tells us a story. The story is about Eloise, a little girl who was going through chemotherapy at 4 years old and wanted nothing more than a fairy princess castle bed. We can all relate to the desire of a young girl to be a princess, can’t we?

As far as typical direct-mail letter hot spots: The Johnson box is Eloise’s father’s thought that his daughter having her wish granted would be his own wish; important copy is boldfaced and/or underlined (and it’s just a respectable amount); the close of the letter ties together Eloise’s and her father’s wish; and there’s a P.S. in handwritten typeface from Dad making one last pitch.

It doesn’t hurt that this mailing also includes a notepad with personalized stationery and address labels. Add to that an adorable photo on the outer envelope, and it’s a great package all around.
— Paul Bobnak

MULTICHANNEL

JEWISH FEDERATION OF PALM BEACH COUNTY
Rosh Hashana Appeal
Submitted by the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County

Numbers:
Total Number of Recipients: 20,533
Total Income Generated: $305,607
Average Gift: $144.84
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $22,202
Response Rate: 10.28 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.073

Through its annual campaign, the Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County assures the continuity of a strong and vibrant Jewish community in the greater Palm Beaches, in Israel and around the world.

The strategy for the organization’s 2006 campaign season was to reach donors through a mix of direct mail and telemarketing.

The Rosh Hashana appeal involved a direct-mail drop to 20,533 recent prospects and individual donors in the $1 to $999 range. The same database was given to the Jewish Federation’s telemarketing vendor to make follow-up phone calls three weeks after the mail drop.

While the resulting numbers of this well-integrated campaign were impressive enough, what our judges liked most was the organization’s decision to use an Israeli telemarketing firm. The decision of hiring an Israeli-based telemarketing firm not only helped the Israeli economy by creating jobs, but it also allowed the organization to use scripts that alerted the target audience that the telemarketer was calling from Jerusalem on behalf of the Jewish Federation. According to the entry form, “It struck an emotional chord and was positively received.”

E-PHILANTHROPY

AUDUBON NATURE INSTITUTE
“Bring Back Our Fish” Campaign
Submitted by Convio

Numbers:
Number of Recipients: 22,092
Total Income Generated: $15,487
Average Gift: $50
Total Out-of-Pocket Costs: $9,000
Response Rate: Just under 10 percent
Cost to Raise a Dollar: $0.58

As we wrote in our November 2006 cover story, Hurricane Katrina not only devastated New Orleans-based Audubon Nature Institute’s facilities, but it also spread its staff, volunteers, board members and donors far and wide. And it wreaked havoc with everyone’s finances. With its administrative offices temporarily moved to Baton Rouge, the organization became dependent on the Web for its emergency fundraising.

“Bring Back Our Fish” was created as an online campaign to:

* increase public awareness;

* raise funds to rebuild the aquarium’s aquatic animal collection;

* generate excitement about the reopening of the aquarium;

* increase financial support for ANI through the animal-adoption program, e-commerce stores, and memberships and donations; and

* grow ANI’s e-mail housefiles.

The campaign consisted of several components, including:

* A Fish Tales contest where people could submit their Aquarium of the Americas stories and pictures online;

* “Bring Back Our Fish” Web pages with progress reports;

* aquarium e-cards;

* an e-store featuring aquarium gifts; and

* a series of 12 e-mails — two featuring aquarium stores; two direct appeals; three reminders for the Fish Tales deadlines and aquarium opening dates; one discount coupon for Fish Tale voters; and four combination messages.

As you can see, the campaign didn’t raise huge amounts of money, but it did increase ANI’s e-mail housefile by 85 percent from 14,090 addresses pre-Katrina to 27,634 by the end of 2006. It also resulted in the sale of 800 new ANI memberships.

From Tim O’Leary: “This campaign, above all else, is fun. It’s easy to get engaged and sends a clear, consistent message. This is a great example for how to conduct the perfect online campaign.”

COMPLETE LIST OF WINNERS

PACKAGE OF THE YEAR — A TIE!
Winner: KCSM Radio “All That Jazz” Goodman Marketing)
Winner: Doctors Without Borders/MSF “Saving Lives, One Child At a Time” (L.W. Robbins)
Silver Award: USO “There Are No Stockings in Iraq” (Worth Linen)
Bronze Award: City Harvest Year-End Appeal (Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co.)

ACQUISITION 50,000 OR MORE MAILED
Winner: Doctors Without Broders World Map Acquisition Package (L.W. Robbins)
Silver Award: USO “In Iraq They Don’t Send Valentines” (Worth Linen)
Bronze Award: Capuchin Soup Kitchen Year-End Acquisition (Lewis Direct)

ACQUISITION FEWER THAN 50,000 MAILED
Winner: San Antonio Hospital Foundation “Help Us Solve This Puzzle (San Antonio Hospital Foundation)
Silver Award: The Empty Stocking Fund Acquisition Test Appeal (Heritage Co.)
Bronze Award: Marmot Recovery Foundation “Extinction Means Forever” (Harvey McKinnon Associates)

RENEWAL FEWER THAN 50,000 MAILED
Winner: KCSM Radio “All That Jazz” Goodman Marketing)
Silver Award: The Empty Stocking Fund Newsletter Appeal (Heritage Co.)
Bronze Award: Home for Little Wanderers “Santa” Renewal Campaign (L.W. Robbins)

RENEWAL 50,000 OR MORE MAILED
Winner: Doctors Without Borders/MSF “Saving Lives, One Child At a Time” (L.W. Robbins)
Silver Award: USO “There Are No Stockings in Iraq” (Worth Linen)
Bronze Award: Appalachian Trail Conservancy Renewal Series (Lewis Direct)

SPECIAL APPEALS
Winner: City Harvest Year-End Appeal (Craver, Mathews, SMith & Co.)
Silver Award: The ALS Association Research Council Appeal (Newport Creative)
Bronze Award (TIE): Leader Dogs for the Blind Voucher Program (Huntsinger & Jeffer)
Bronze Award (TIE): WHRO Member Card Appeal (Nexus Direct)

E-PHILANTHROPY
Winner: Audubon Nature Institure “Bring Back Our Fish” Campaign (Convio)
Silver Award: People for the American Way Kathleen Turner Matching Gift E-mail (Impact Communications)
Bronze Award: None

MULTICHANNEL
Winner: Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County Annual Rosh Hashana Appeal (Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County)
Silver Award: Human Rights Campaign “Defeat Federal Marriage Act” (Convio)
Bronze Award: MAP International Matching Gift Integrated Campaign (L.W. Robbins)

SUBMITTING AGENCIES
Adams Hussey & Associates
Big Duck
BMD
Carl Bloom Associates
Chalmers Marketing Group
Convio
Copland O’Neil
Craver, Mathews, Smith & Co.
DaVinci Direct
DMW Worldwide
Douglass Shaw & Associates
Eberle Associates
Fund Raising Strategies
Goodman Marketing
Harvey McKinnon Associates
Heritage Company
Huntsinger & Jeffer
Impact Communications
Kintera
Lewis Direct
Lisa Selner Creative
L.W. Robbins Associates
Masterworks
Merkle/Domain
Newport Creative Communications
Nexus Direct
PEP Direct
Stratmark
Worth Linen Associates

ORGANIZATIONS REPRESENTED
AdoptaPlatoon
Alabama Public Television
ALS Association
America’s Second Harvest
American Bible Society
American Lung Association
American Psychological Association
American Rivers
Americans United
Appalachian Trail Conservancy
Audubon Nature Institute
Braille Institute of America
Capuchin Soup Kitchen
CARE
City Harvest
Doctors Without Borders/Medecines Sans Frontieres
Empty Stocking Fund
FINCA International
Greenpeace USA
Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity Tucson
Help Hospitalized Veterans
Heroes Scholarship Fund
Home for Little Wanderers
Hospice Foundation of Western New York
Human Rights Committee
Jewish Fedreration of Palm Beach County
Judson Center
Noah’s Lost Ark
KCET
KCSM
KQED-San Francisco
Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund
Leader Dogs for the Blind
MAP International
Marmot Revocery Foundation
Marrow Foundation
Miracle Hill Ministries
Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association
National Association of Railroad Passengers
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare
National Park Foundation
Norris Cotton Cancer Center
North Shore Animal League
Pacific Aviation Museum
Paralyzed Veterans
Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy
Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue
People for the American Way
Plan USA
Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation
Redwings Horse Sanctuary
Rhode Island Community Food Bank
Salvation Army
San Antonio Hospital Foundation
Save the Children
Schomburg Center
Special Olympics
St. Labre Indian School
Union Rescue Mission
USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
USO
Waterfront Rescue Mission
WHRO
World Jewish congress Foundation