Mal Warwick Associates

It’s important for organizations to send donors letters that express their gratitude for a gift -- the more personal and grateful, the better. In the February issue of the e-newsletter by nonprofit direct-marketing firm Mal Warwick Associates, Peter Schoewe, senior consultant for the firm, wrote a great piece on thank-you letters that stresses this point. Some of his key tips: 1. Thank-you letters don’t need to be well-written. Schoewe says that, actually, somewhat awkward thank-yous are a good thing. 2. Use words that bring the donor closer to your organization. A phrase like “We are grateful” should be replaced by “I am grateful.” Similarly,

Two Common Direct-mail Production Issues April 18, 2006 By Abny Santicola, editor, FundRaising Success Advisor There are two perennial direct-mail production issues, according to Stephen Hitchcock, vice president for client services at Berkeley, Calif.-based full-service fundraising firm Mal Warwick Associates. They are: 1) The timeliness of mailings, i.e., trying to get them out as quickly as possible; and 2) Finding what Hitchcock calls that "sweet spot" of cost effectiveness. In terms of the timeliness of mailings, Hitchcock says there's always a desire on the part of the direct-mail production staff and the printers to have a certain amount of lead time. Balancing this with

Netting High-Dollar Donors Feb. 7, 2006 By Abny Santicola, associate editor, FundRaising Success Not all direct mail is created equal. Sure, from organization to organization a lot of the inequality is due to budgets of different girth. But even within an organization, there can be a lot of variance among direct-mail campaigns. In his book, "The Mercifully Brief Real World Guide to ... Raising $1,000 Gifts by Mail," Mal Warwick, founder and chairman of Berkeley, Calif.-based fundraising and marketing agency Mal Warwick & Associates, shares his tips for raising high-dollar gifts. Among Warwick's many points are the four key musts for organizations looking

Most of the time, almost no one will respond to your appeals by mail. The only reason direct-mail fundraising works is that someone who does send you a first gift is very likely to send another when asked, writes Mal Warwick, author and founder of the Berkeley, Calif.-based, full-service fundraising company Mal Warwick & Associates.