Personalization works, Mr. Sample. Just be sure to get it right, Mr. Sample. And please, Mr. Sample, don’t overdo it.

By Paul Barbagallo

Despite his optimism, Nelson is quick to point out the fundamental barrier that nonprofit organizations face when personalizing direct mail: data.

Arguably the most vital aspect of direct marketing, data provides a sound guideline for upgrading a donor’s charitable giving.

“The first problem that most nonprofits have is not having a data structure that allows both consolidation of data and easy cross-reference to data,” Nelson asserts, citing a list of common quagmires such as lack of data integrity, multiple people within an organization not sharing data on the same donor, and data housed in different locations.