Focus On: Personalization: Dear Mr. Sample

Not so long ago, direct mail personalization meant slapping a donor’s name and address on a form letter and calling it a day. It was a statement: The more personal information an organization presented in a solicitation to Mr. Sample, the greater his significance. How times have changed — sort of.

With the advent of database-management software and digital printing technology, direct mail personalization has emerged as a sophisticated marketing practice, both easy and seemingly cost effective to employ. (By now, nearly every organization has sent its contributors a sheet of colorful address labels.) Yet many nonprofits still are not speaking to their constituents with personal relevance.