Incentives

Firsthand Tales of Creativity and Success
February 1, 2015

Lisa Mummert, senior account executive for Image Source Inc. in Santa Rosa, Calif., shared a promotion she and a winery created to support Murphy-Goode Operation Homefront, an organization that provides financial and practical aid to veterans in need. They sent thank-you bundles to veterans that included USBs loaded with information about Operation Homefront.

Map It Out: A Twist on Direct-Mail Fundraising Premiums/Freemiums
December 30, 2014

Freemiums and premiums have long been staples of direct-mail fundraising. In this video, Direct Marketing IQ's Paul Bobnak takes a look at this practice with a little twist. He reviews the tried-and-true method of address labels included in a Paralyzed Veterans of America mailing and then lays out how both the Sierra Club and Doctors Without Borders utilize maps as engaging freemiums for donors.

Engage Conference Spotlight: The Give and Take of Premium Mailings
February 11, 2014

The use of premiums in direct-response fundraising, whether it be in a direct-mail, email, telefundraising or direct-response television campaign, has conjured lots of debate over the years. Proponents like to point out the lift a premium often can give a specific campaign, while detractors often cite the lack of donor loyalty for premium-responsive donors.

The Surprising Power of Promotional Products
December 31, 2013

When veterans’ nonprofit group Disabled American Veterans sends a mailing for contributions, Dr. Robert Cialdini, professor emeritus of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University, said, it gets an 18 percent response rate. When the same letter is sent with personalized address labels, which cost about eight cents, the response rate goes up to 35 percent. “For the cost of the address labels they get almost a doubling of return,” he said. “It’s very powerful rule and very small things can trigger it.”

Study: Donations Drop in Response to Tote Bags, Mugs
December 16, 2013

Do thank-you gifts actually increase contributions? Two Yale University researchers tried to answer this question in a recent study of charitable behavior. They looked at how external incentives influence a person's willingness to engage in charitable behavior, to be precise — and found that when you offer a thank-you gift as part of an initial donation request — such as a pen, tote bag or mug — people end up donating less than if you just asked them how much they'd be willing to donate.

Keeping It in Budget
August 1, 2013

To make branded products economically feasible for your smaller nonprofit, it’s important to make every dollar count. Here are some ideas to do just that.