Karen Taggart

It was the fight of the century! In one corner we had direct mail — steady, consistent, predictable veteran of the ring. But in the other corner was our challenger — the Internet. The ’net is quick, young and full of potential. Was this DM’s final fight? Clint O’Brien, vice president of business development at Care2, served as referee between the two fierce combatants as they duked it out for six rounds. Trish “Strongmire” Longmire, director of donor development for Habitat for Humanity, spoke on behalf of direct mail, while Lisa “East of the Rock” Sock, online outreach and fundraising manager for the ACLU,

With all the hype surrounding online fundraising, direct marketers are left with questions about the performance of online campaigns vs. direct-mail acquisition campaigns. Which perform better? How do you know which to use for your organization? The answer: It depends. As with most aspects of direct marketing, there is no cut-and-dry answer as to which method of donor recruitment is better, but rather unique characteristics of both channels. In an effort to uncover some of the benefits and challenges of online and DM acquisition, I moderated a debate at the Bridge Conference in Washington, D.C., last week. Krista Harte Sassaman, senior account director at marketing solutions