Direct Response

There's a lot to love in the mailbox and electronic inbox these days. Our donors deserve the best from us. Thanks to all of you who deliver that day after day!

Our donors probably support multiple nonprofits and are approached by many others searching for new donors. Boring them over and over or deciding that we won't mail or e-mail because "we don't want to bother them" gives them a great opportunity to think about other nonprofits and perhaps make their donations to those other (also worthy) groups.

We live in a multichannel world. Why does this matter for direct-response fundraising? It’s creating more “indirect” response.

The world's problems are getting more complex, but your direct-mail fundraising efforts shouldn't be. In the direct-response fundraising world, the wise leader recognizes the Nonprofit Complexity Conundrum and finds ways to keep direct-response offers clear, compelling, emotional and simple, as programs continue to get more and more complex.

FundRaising Success speaks with Cathy Finney, managing director of direct response at USA for UNHCR — The UN Refugee Agency about the organization's fundraising.

What is the one thing in direct response that is going to make your income grow and your donors deepen their conviction? That's what you have to find out.

Yes, you want to engage younger donors, but do you even know who they are?

Let's face it — getting the attention of our donors is never easy, and big events that capture everyone's attention don't help. As fundraisers, we're constantly fighting against the clutter that fills mailboxes, inboxes and pretty much every other place our donors turn.

Do presidential elections impact fundraising? And if so, what can direct-response marketers do to optimize results during an election season?

Three fundraising professionals shared their "20 Big Ideas for Small Nonprofits" at the 2012 Washington Nonprofit Conference. Here are ideas 6-10.