Retention is Key DRM Component

Burton outlined some tried-and-true retention strategies used by one of her company's clients, Portland West, a Portland, Maine-based organization that provides low-income, at-risk children, teens, and families with affordable housing, and educational and community-outreach programs. Burton said the organization found success using grassroots tactics such as donor newsletters, a quarterly community newspaper, and enhanced open houses, as well as a redesign of its Web site. In addition, it added "personal flair" to direct-mail appeals by including handwritten notes and thank-yous. The handwritten notes were so successful that they prompted some recipients to send notes back to the organization, an action that then was noted in the donor's profile.