Direct Mail

This mailing from Eight/KAET, Arizona State University’s public radio station, is a membership renewal sent to the station’s Friends of Eight members that combines simplicity and friendliness in a way that is incredibly endearing. The blue No. 10 outer envelope has the teaser, “We took a chance on you … ” and a simple, cartoon-like illustration of a man holding a pole and walking on a tight rope. Inside is an 8.5-inch-by-10.5-inch double-sided letter with a perforated reply slip at the bottom. At the top of the letter, just below the organization’s logo and address information, is the same image of the man on

The bright, red #10 outer of this mailing sent by Emily’s List, a political network for pro-choice Democratic women, bears the teaser, “URGENT: Candidate Recommendations.” Inside, in addition to the donation ask for eight candidates for Congress (0n the yellow 7-inch-by-8.5-inch reply device) are eight 3.5-inch-by-4.5-inch cards — one for each candidate. On one side of each card is a black-and-white portrait photograph of each candidate with her name and the office she’s running for — e.g., “Diane Farrell, Running for U.S. Congress: Connecticut.” The other side of each card repeats the candidate’s name and lists in bullet points three key reasons to support

I remember the first direct-mail appeal letter I ever wrote. It was 1978. A massive flood had ravaged a village in the lowlands of Bangladesh, and I was assigned to write an appeal to current donors.

Twenty-eight years — and many appeal packages — later, I want to share what I’ve learned. You might find these thoughts helpful as you prepare for your next appeal.

No one wants to listen to complaints every day. Whether the complainer is a spouse (“Put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher!”), one of your kids (“Why can’t you take me to the mall?”) or a donor (“Stop sending me so much mail!”), it might seem easier to ignore the situation than to do something about it.

But just as you don’t want your spouse to file for divorce or your child to hitch a ride to the mall from a stranger, you also don’t want a valuable donor to say goodbye to you.

Alley Cat Allies is a Bethesda, Md.-based national clearinghouse for information on feral and stray cats devoted to reducing the number of domestic and feral cats through nonlethal methods. The organization publishes a quarterly newsletter, AlleyCatAction, that showcases groups and individuals around the country who are improving conditions for feral and stray cats; it’s been sending the 8.5-inch-by-10.5-inch non-glossy newsletter to its house file of past and current donors for about five years.

Grueling is the word that crossed the lips of the intrepid judges for our 2006 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence as they made their way out of our offices one hot afternoon in August.

Not that we’re particularly demanding taskmasters, but the competition was, indeed, fierce. Much to our glee, it grew from 33 packages in 2005 to nearly 90 this year (sent in by 21 agencies and four nonprofit organizations). Some of the categories remained the same, but we added a few and tweaked a few others.

This mailing from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism puts all its cards on the table on the outer envelope. The white No. 10 has the USCJ return address in the upper left-hand corner and just below it, resting above the address box, the headline, “Strengthening Jewish continuity and our ties to Israel.” The right side of the outer shows a small image of a note pad and three thumbnail photographs of flowers in full color. Next to the note pad image and flower photographs is the teaser, “Enclosed: Your Flora of Israel Note Pad and Labels.” Inside is a 3.5-inch-by-8.5-inch glue-bound note pad. The

This mailing from the National Parks Conservation Association doesn’t look too different from the outside. The white, glossy outer consists of two 6-inch-by-9-inch panels folded together and tab sealed. The face panel is bare save the address box and NPCA return address, while the back displays a four-color thumbnail picture of a cliff and the teaser, “When you think of our national parks, what words come to mind?” When the seal is broken, the face panel opens to the left to show another panel with a picture of an evergreen forest and the word, “Magnificent?” When this panel is lifted to the right, three

Competition in the mailbox is tough for all mailers. While some organizations mail bigger and flashier to stand out from the rest of the packages in the mail pile, others go the other route of mailing blind and keeping elements simple. This mailing from the National Stroke Council caught my eye because it is a rare example of a package that is simple yet eye-catching, not because it’s flashy, but because it is doing something different. In addition to the usual poly address window, the light blue No. 10 outer has a simple, black-outlined illustration of a doctor in hospital scrubs. To his side

There’s something to be said for creating a mailing around a theme that uses both words and graphics to convey a clear message, and this mailing from the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission does it well. The organization’s mission is to secure human rights for all people and communities subject to discrimination or abuse on the basis of sexual orientation or expression, gender identity or expression, and/or HIV status. The message of this mailing is that LGBT people around the world face persecution and that by speaking out against this persecution and donating to the organization, individuals can help ensure the rights