Direct Mail

AFP CEO Paulette Maehara shares her thoughts on Convio's positive 2010 Holiday Giving Survey findings.

If the 2008 election was about hope and change, the 2010 midterm campaign, judging by its direct mail, was mostly focused on anger. That's the most obvious takeaway based on a review of the fundraising appeals and campaign fliers that we've seen during the year. Whether directed at President Obama, or at congressional leaders Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, this emotional touchpoint dominated political mail like it hasn't since the days of Bill Clinton.

With the dust beginning to settle after election 2010, now is a good time to take a look at the role direct mail played in how the parties and candidates raised money and turned voters out to the polls ... or not. As with every election, there were new movements and people wrestling for power, but the mail they sent was, with very few exceptions, pretty traditional.

When you look at the incentives nonprofits have been offering over the years in their direct-mail appeals, it always seems the same: a hat, an umbrella, a sheet of address labels. But look away, then look back, and you'll see this perception is no longer entirely accurate.

A new US study finds that Direct Mail is a more important driver to online giving than online communications.

More than twice as many online donors say they were prompted to give an online gift in response to a direct mail appeal compared to when they received an e-appeal, according to a national US study Dunham+Company recently conducted through research firm Campbell Rinker.

The survey says that in a surprising finding, 14% said that a direct mail letter prompted them to give online versus only 6% who said an email prompted their online gift.

We'd like to introduce SOFII to those of our readers who don't know about it and share some of the fundraising efforts that have made it into the site's Best of the Best Showcase.

We found eight distinct cases of hemispheric flip in direct-mail fundraising. Hemispheric flip is when the sides of the brain are incorrectly deployed: What should be rational decisions are made emotionally ... and vice versa.

The only voice we should be concerned about in our direct-mail fundraising is the voice that works — the voice that raises the most money. And the great thing about fundraising is that we can test one letter versus another, one style or voice against something very different, to find what works best.

Analyzing trends in the fundraising world is important on many levels. It lets you know what's happening in the industry, what that may mean for the future and how it compares to the past. Studying trends also lets you know where you stand compared to other organizations, allowing you to pinpoint what your organization is doing well and what it needs to work on.

The Postal Regulatory Commission announced this morning that it would not approve the U.S. Postal Service's request for an "exigent" price increase.

"We have concluded that we must deny the Postal Service's request," Commission Chairman Ruth Goldway said in a prepared statement. She said the decision "is a consensus, and is unanimous."