Direct Mail

Segmentation and targeting are vital in direct-mail fundraising. If you aren't using it, you risk losing donors altogether. Because if a donor receives too much mail from too many places from one nonprofit, it may bug him or her enough to tune all of its communications out.

Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's letter is minimalist, refreshing.

St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital sent a follow-up thank-you direct mailer to my online peer-to-peer gift and subsequently got me to give that all-important second gift.

The 7.75-inch Monarch special appeal I received from the National September 11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center Foundation (9/11 Memorial) has fantastic “package gestalt.”

To stand out, fundraising mailers can't be afraid to, well, stand out.

Take a look at the Human Rights Campaign's successful online/offline conversion efforts — and the direct-mail package, dubbed "Right Side of History," that also allowed it to expand its traditional base of support.

Three fundraising professionals shared their "20 Big Ideas for Small Nonprofits" at the 2012 Washington Nonprofit Conference. Here are ideas 6-10.

The ball drops in Times Square, and next thing you know, Chez Seville is lousy with membership cards. Over the course of about six weeks, I received member/partner/supporter cards from 18 different organizations.

Over the course of about six weeks, I received member/partner/supporter cards from 18 different organizations.

I tend to toss the lot of sameness into a basket to open and look through later, but there are a few rare exceptions — like everything I receive from Best Friends Animal Society. Those mailings are like a treat, an irresistible feast of cuteness and an infallible pick-me-up.