Talking Back

— Ellen Brosso and Suzanne Bruce,
vice presidents,
Corporate Synergies Group Inc.,
Mt. Laurel, N.J.

What’s the most significant step you can take to ensure a clean list when you start a fundraising campaign?
— FS Advisor, June 6, 2006

The most important thing you can do to ensure that you start a campaign with a clean file is to scrub your list of internal duplications. While leaving out possible good leads is an important aspect of list management, sending the same prospective (or worse, proven) donor the same phone call, mail piece or e-mail is a sure way to turn him or her off from giving to your organization. National Change of Address and other tools are readily available to assist with this process. A clean list is one without duplicate records.