Making Donor Acquisition Less Painful

These days, there are a lot of restrictions on renting names. Some nonprofits don’t do it, no matter what. Others only exchange — “you can use our list if we can use yours.” Still other nonprofits rent frequently and have a constant source of income from using their lists in this fashion.

You most likely contact a list broker to acquire names — a company that may manage some lists (being the exclusive source for renting those names), but also has solid knowledge of the universe of lists available from other list brokers, how they are performing, who else is renting them, if they are showing signs of decline in terms of productivity, etc. Working with a list broker can be the best “cure” for a lackluster direct-mail acquisition program if you choose the right partner for your project.