Direct Mail

The U.S. Postal Service ended its third quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2011 with a net loss of $3.1 billion, compared to a net loss of $3.5 billion for the same period in FY 2010. Total mail volume declined to 39.8 billion pieces for the quarter, compared to 40.9 billion pieces in the third quarter of FY 2010. Postal Service third quarter revenue reflects the anemic state of the economy during the past three months. Additionally, the growth in electronic communications continues to erode core First-Class Mail volume.

Working with a list broker can be the best "cure" for a lackluster direct-mail donor acquisition program if you choose the right partner for your project.

At a time when for-profit theaters may be feeling the pressure to cave in to the economic pinch and roll out the revivals, nonprofit San Francisco-based American Conservatory Theater is still taking chances.

At the sixth annual Bridge to Integrated Marketing and Fundraising Conference held in National Harbor, Md., last week, two fundraising professionals shared 11 best practices and discussed how implementing them helped the Coast Guard Foundation (CGF) and Lighthouse International achieve tremendous results.

With mail continuing to provide the best return on investment of any prospecting medium, and with the power it can have on a housefile, it's a shame to abandon it completely. Even if you can't afford to put a bigger piece (i.e., a catalog) in the mail, there are affordable alternative mailers that can work well if used as part of an integrated marketing strategy.

We can and should tell donors all these things, often, in as many ways as we can. But we can also show them with involvement devices that say to them, "Your thoughts and ideas, your concerns, and your vision are things of interest to me."

Unfortunately, organic growth is usually not enough to offset attrition, and online acquisition may not be enough to grow your donor file. So, rather than calculating when attrition will leave you with only one remaining donor (though from experience, I assure you that presenting your board with a graph showing that startling statistic is quite effective), here are four ways to stretch even the smallest direct-mail acquisition budget for maximum impact.

How can a printed fundraising direct-mail piece interact with a donor’s smartphone? The answer: QR codes.

Three fundraising professionals shared 30 ideas for fundraising success at Fund Raising Day in New York. Here are ideas 21-30.

Three fundraising professionals shared 30 ideas for fundraising success at Fund Raising Day in New York. Here are ideas 11-20.