Christian Children's Fund

The scenario had become all too common for Christian Children's Fund. Mike Pressendo's young son had chosen to sponsor a Cambodian child through the Christian Children's Fund Web site. But when the Cambodian affiliate — called ChildFund Cambodia — sent his sponsor package, it immediately caused confusion for the boy. Why, when he had sponsored a child through Christian Children's Fund, was he now receiving information on the sponsorship from another organization?

Editor’s Note: Direct-response television isn’t for every nonprofit organization, but with the proper planning and execution, it can be a solid source of income. Here, three professionals talk about their experiences with both long- and short-form DRTV.

Nonprofit direct-response fundraising programs historically have centered around one channel, usually direct mail. But as other channels become more viable and new ones emerge — can you say W-E-B? — innovative organizations have become aggressive in incorporating them into their fundraising mix.

There seems to be a general misconception in our industry that the elements of successful DRTV are a well-kept secret shared among a few nonprofits. But the truth is that good DRTV follows the same principles of any good direct response, and it requires the same dogged discipline of testing and measuring. But it must be worth it. Through July this year, nonprofits have a reported spending of $27 million in short-form (generally two minutes or less) TV advertising, according to Nielsen Media Research. Nonprofits that use DRTV successfully are able to manage each of the medium's five critical components: offer, creative, media