Little Dogs ... Big Tricks

I can't tell you how many small nonprofits have told me that they simply cannot afford to acquire new donors through direct mail. I then ask them if their donor files are shrinking every year. They often say yes, but usually not by much. OK, I say, you may be fortunate and holding on to most of your donors from year to year, but if the trend continues unabated, you will eventually have no donors at all. It's simple arithmetic. Constant subtraction, no matter how small the number, will eventually get you to zero.