Planned Parenthood Federation Of America, Inc.

Sometimes all it takes is one element with one strong image that intertwines with and communicates a singular, strong message to give a direct-mail package response-driving impact. This mailing from Planned Parenthood Federation of America trying to rally support against pharmacists’ refusal to fill birth-control prescriptions achieves this with a six-panel, 4-inch-by-7-inch glossy pamphlet. The package is mailed in a white No. 10 envelope with faux red-stamp copy reading “Petition Enclosed” and includes an 8.5-inch-by-14-inch form with the reply device and three petitions, a four-page, 8.5-inch-by-11-inch letter and a BRE, in addition to the pamphlet. The letter does a good job of laying PPFA’s case, but

What makes top fundraisers and fundraising consultants successful? Two weeks ago we ran the first installment of our Q-and-A with winners of FundRaising Success’ 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards in which some of them answered this and other questions. Here, our second and final presentation of their responses: What are your keys to success? Katya Andresen, vice president of marketing for Network for Good and one of our Fundraising Professionals of the Year: The key to all marketing — and fundraising — is simple: always, always, appeal to the perspective of your audience, not your own. As a mentor of mine [Sharyn Sutton, founder

Keeping tasks fresh and exciting can be a struggle no matter what job you do. Here, stars of the fundraising sector and winners of FundRaising Success’ 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards share how they keep fundraising new and exciting. How do you keep fundraising fresh? Michael Knipp, chief copywriter/editor for Creative Direct Response, Rising Star: By always pushing myself to be innovative. There’s no point in getting up for work every day if I’m not proud of what I’m putting my name on. Kim Ruotsala, director of development for Food Bank of the Rockies, Top Women in Fundraising: You can’t rely on what worked in

The winners of FundRaising Success’ 2007 Fundraising Professionals of the Year Awards are individuals in the sector — on both the nonprofit and consulting side — who enrich the sector in some way and/or embody important trends in fundraising. We asked our award winners to share some things about themselves: where they come from, geographically and professionally; where they want to be in the future; who inspires them; and examples of some challenges and accomplishments they’ve had. Below are Q-and-A’s with five of our winners: Ted Kohnen, assistant director of Planned Parenthood Online and a Rising Star; Tim Burgess, co-founder of Merkle/Domain and a

Grueling is the word that crossed the lips of the intrepid judges for our 2006 Gold Awards for Fundraising Excellence as they made their way out of our offices one hot afternoon in August.

Not that we’re particularly demanding taskmasters, but the competition was, indeed, fierce. Much to our glee, it grew from 33 packages in 2005 to nearly 90 this year (sent in by 21 agencies and four nonprofit organizations). Some of the categories remained the same, but we added a few and tweaked a few others.

In the session, “Planning for Emergencies: Is Your Organization Ready?” presented at the DMA Nonprofit Federation 2006 New York Nonprofit Conference earlier this month, Lorelei Schroeter, former director of direct response for Planned Parenthood Federation of America, outlined the organization’s three key steps when faced with political emergencies. Step 1: Defining what is an emergency situation. Schroeter said the definition of “emergency situations” can vary by organization. For PPFA there are two categories: usual emergencies, e.g., upcoming bills in the house or senate; and ground-breaking emergencies, e.g., this past spring South Dakota’s governor signed into law a ban on abortion. Schroeter said