Today I have a guest blogger and friend – Erica Waasdorp, President of A Direct Solution – sharing her expertise. Take it away, Erica . . .
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I just came back from a business trip in the Netherlands, where they inducted the new King, Willem-Alexander. It was a really great time to be there as the whole country was orange. Then I went to the Engage Conference in Philadelphia. It’s a brand new conference, organized by Fundraising Success Magazine.
It was one day, filled with practical case studies of organizations, confirming something my clients are fortunate to experience virtually every month – the fact that . . .
Direct mail still works!!
Yes, it’s true: direct mail costs are going up every time postage rates increase.
Yes, it’s true: we all love finding new donors who use social media and the Internet to donate. But they’re just not there in abundance.
However, did you know that you can quintuple your investment with direct mail? In other words, spend $0.20 to $0.30 to raise a dollar?
The exact level of success from your direct mail and overall fundraising results depends on the planning that goes into it.
• Some organizations need to invest a lot in building a donor base
• Others are carefully looking at how best to grow their annual fund
• Others churn through several annual events but are really looking to get away from them as they’re so resource intensive and volunteers get burned out
• Many are looking to convert their donors to sustainers, recurring or monthly donors
These are great times to make ALL of this happen!
As you know, I’m a strong advocate of both direct mail and monthly giving. And in my experience they go hand-in-hand.
So let’s take a minute to highlight that partnership.
A distinctive aspect of a monthly giving program is that there are several great ways to grow it – especially via the Internet. Plus it’s not that hard to set up.
One key to developing a solid monthly giving is to stick with it! Start small. Don’t overreach. You’ll be surprised that by incorporating the monthly giving ask into all of your fundraising efforts – including direct mail – that after a while, as with paying your bills, you won’t even think about it. And it will start to grow….
Earlier this spring, I published the e-book version of my book – Monthly Giving: The Sleeping Giant, now available at Amazon.com. You can also download the Introduction here, which gives you a good overview of why monthly giving should be included in your development plan.
If you are interested in starting a monthly giving program and need help getting started, I’d be happy to meet with you for a free, one hour consultation [from A Direct Solution] and help work on your plan.
Meanwhile here are a few other monthly giving tips that you may wish to consider that involve direct mail and even phone calls.
# # # Thanks, Erica.
The above post is an excerpt from her spring newsletter. I urge you to sign-up for her quarterly newsletter. It contains a main article like the one above, plus considerably more useful information.
For example, the Spring 2013 issue also has articles on:
Planned Giving
Donor Fatigue
Why Every Organization Needs a “Gift Acceptance Policy”
Plus other resource links, tips and nuggets
Contact Erica Waasdorp of A Direct Solution today for help in getting closer to that 5:1 return. And for help with your Annual Fund, Planned Giving, Grant writing, Events, Sustainers and Public Relations. They’ll help you put a plan together to smooth out your fundraising income over the course of the year. This allows you to focus on your mission with confidence!
