If any organization has the gumption to go after major donors via direct mail, the Web and telemarketing, it would be NARAL Pro-Choice America. It did, and it’s working.

By Abny Santicola

“We are able to sustain a higher net investment to acquire those donors that we would not otherwise be able to afford,” Donahue says, adding that, on average, the organization invests about $19 to $20 to acquire one donor, but has at times invested as little as $7.

Donahue says the development staff uses these numbers to educate those at the board and executive level of the need for continued investment in acquisition, explaining that a $19-per-donor acquisition cost is worth the investment when the organization sustains an average donor value of $45 to $50. It’s also important in forwarding the organization’s mission, as Donahue says more than 90 percent of its membership file votes in both general and off-year elections. While most nonprofits usually lose money on reinstatement and tend to regard it as more of an investment in the future, NARAL Pro-Choice America nets money on its reinstatement program.