Direct Response

You don't have to have a story to tell a story. You just have to find another one. One that's already there.

What can you think of that has been done the same way for 50 years? For too many nonprofits the answer is fundraising and marketing (aka “development”). And it’s beyond time for a change. In fact, a sea change. It turns out Bob Dylan got it right: "Come gather 'round people wherever your roam, and admit that the waters around you have grown …"

Before the digital revolution, an information imbalance existed. This facilitated a one-way "push" model of marketing/fundraising. We could define our own brand and sell it. Guess what? That imbalance is gone. 

As we continue our journey through the alphabet, you'll find more ideas to help recharge your fundraising, using P, Q, R, S and T as my "copy triggers." (Just like writing a good fundraising appeal, right?!)

In our October 2008 issue, Operation Smile's Kyla Shawyer, who is presenting Operation Smile's story and steps to becoming a fundraising pillar with Russ Reid CEO and FS Editorial Advisory Board member Tom Harrison at Engage, shared some tips for fundraising success she gleaned from her time at the organization.

A recent industry study in 2011 found that "too much" was only a problem if the messaging wasn't relevant. Hence, the questions we should be asking ourselves are what our donors expect, how they feel and what we're doing to drive a great communication experience with our brands.

Continuing our journey through the alphabet, here are five more things to pay attention to as you do your work as a fundraiser this week and passionately share your organization's mission with supporters and prospects.

In this guest column, "Blending the Art and the Science," from the August 2009 issue, Cathy Finney, then associate vice president at MINDset direct, explains that it might be important to bring creative talent to the table earlier in the development of direct-response campaigns.

It's a fact of fundraising that some donors only give once and never again. Others give multiple times but then stop giving. But just because that's reality, fundraisers should never calmly accept it. Instead, we need to fight to the death to keep our donors, using the weapons of creative strategies that are designed to retain or re-acquire our donors.

If you’re thinking about doing your first direct-marketing campaign, you’re probably a bit nervous on getting started. For starters, there are so many methods to choose from, it could make your head spin. Then there is the whole actually-choosing-and-implementing-a-method thing. It can also be hard to determine what methods are actually worth the time and expense, and which are obsolete, not right for your company, or downright annoying.

Ted Hart speaks with Clinton O'Brien, vice president of business development at Care2, about core values in fundraising campaigns on his Nonprofit Coach radio show.