Direct Mail

When it comes to direct-mail appeals from Doctors Without Borders/Medecines Sans Frontieres, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one lacking a sense of urgency. As an international medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by conflicts, epidemics and disasters, MSF writes urgency into everything it does — and it’s in the mail a lot asking for donor support. Still, the sense of urgency doesn’t get old or lose its effect because it’s real. For the most part, the organization’s mailings are relatively sparse, and the letters often use a typewriter font, making them feel as though they were hurriedly typed from the

This mailing from the Humane Society of the United States employs a unique freemium of a diary, but keeps it anything but secret. Written in maroon on the white 4.5-inch-by-8.5-inch outer is the teaser, “The enclosed FREE GIFT will help you throughout your day!” Inside the mailing — sent to HSUS members — is a 3.5-inch-by-7-inch reply device, a BRE, the 4-inch-by-6-inch four-color diary and a 7.25-inch-by-10.25-inch four-page letter. The paperback-weight cover of the diary has an adorable illustration of a puppy and kitten sleeping cheek to cheek. Inside are blank diary pages, as well as a mini-calendar and address-book pages. On the back

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