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Don Rhoten, CFRE MMC Foundation, President/CEO donrhoten donrhoten@gmail @ DonRhoten

Don Rhoten, CFRE MMC Foundation, President/CEO www.donrhoten.com donrhoten@gmail.com @ DonRhoten. Direct Mail: Why do we care?. Why?. Inform Educate Research ENGAGE! Any others??. How about Raising Money?. 65% of first-time donors never make a 2 nd gift

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Don Rhoten, CFRE MMC Foundation, President/CEO donrhoten donrhoten@gmail @ DonRhoten

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  1. Don Rhoten, CFRE MMC Foundation, President/CEO www.donrhoten.com donrhoten@gmail.com @DonRhoten

  2. Direct Mail: Why do we care?

  3. Why? • Inform • Educate • Research • ENGAGE! • Any others??

  4. How about Raising Money? • 65% of first-time donors never make a 2nd gift Source: 2012 Cygnus Donor Survey Report Charities send on average 14 pieces per year Source: Lawrence Henze, J.D. “Taking Control of Your Annual Fund” What is the point?

  5. The most important aspect of DM?

  6. The most important aspect of DM? DONOR

  7. DM: the art? Everyone raise your hands!

  8. Direct Mail: Techniques

  9. How to run a successful DM program! • Roles and Responsibilities • Timeline • Theme • Brand • Understand your audience • Be thoughtful in your writing

  10. Roles and Responsibilities Understand roles before the mailing: • Writer • Designer • “Envelope stuffers” / Mailing House • Editor(s)

  11. Roles and Responsibilities Understand roles after the mailing: • Donation processing • Database management • Thank you letters • Follow-up phone calls

  12. Timeline Set a timeline for each mailing piece… …..BEFORE the year begins.

  13. Calendar Color Code Red: Ask Blue: General

  14. Theme Prior to any designing or writing, develop a theme: Simple - Compelling - Memorable The theme is carried throughout all the pieces and into the writing.

  15. Theme

  16. Brand Every piece should have a consistent color palette, font style, imagery, writing style, etc… Includes: mailing envelope, letterhead, response card, response envelope, premium, etc…

  17. Brand

  18. Brand

  19. Understand The Audience • Conquer your database • Collect and maintain personal information (appropriately) • Learn Microsoft Excel!!! - IF statements - CEILING statements - Nested IF statements

  20. Understanding Excel =IF(K38/I38>7500,CEILING(K38/I38,250),IF(K38/I38>5000,CEILING(K38/I38,100),IF(K38/I38>1000,CEILING(K38/I38,50),IF(K38/I38>500,CEILING(K38/I38,25),IF(K38/I38>100,CEILING(K38/I38,10),CEILING(K38/I38,5)))))) Taking an average and rounding numbers so multiple decimal places are appearing and assigning specific amounts. =IF(I22>1, "gifts","gift") Looking at if there is one gift or more than one, then using “gift” or “gifts” In some letters we have over 20 personal fields.

  21. Thoughtful Writing • Be cautious of the “strategy cloud” • Focus on the donor and the mission • Avoid inflammatory language • The donor always comes first • Be genuine, considerate, and thoughtful Be Donor-centric

  22. Remember We aren’t raising money. We are engaging and connecting with people. These people are donors.

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