25 Steps to Better Direct Mail Fund Raising

Copyright © 1988 by Constance Clark. Updated 1998 and 2001. Permission is granted to not-for-profit organizations to reprint and distribute this document provided the author is fully credited. For more information, e-mail Connie Clark.

Direct mail fund raising brings non-profit organizations millions of dollars in gifts every year, and the numbers continue to grow. It is a highly refined art, if not a science, and detailing even its basic principles would require a hefty volume. This brochure does not aim to be comprehensive, but it does offer some ideas gained through decades of experience -- ideas that might help you create a new and winning approach to your next mailing.

1. Ask people to give money in order to help others.

There's no reason to give money for a building, if you think that building will stand permanently uninhabited and unseen. But a building where people will be healed, or educated, or uplifted -- that building has soul. People only give to people (and other sentient beings), and when you're asking for money in the mail, it's essential to create a link between the people you want to help and the donors who will do the helping.

2. Be specific about what you need.

When people give, they want to know exactly what good their hard-earned dollars will produce. It's your job as a fund-raiser to tell them, in detail, the results you hope to achieve with their money. It is rarely enough to say funds are needed to run your worthy programs; although this approach can work for annual fund programs, better results come from spelling out your problem and its solution.

3. Quantify the gift amount you request.

Can you honestly tell your donors that their $25.37 will provide a week's worth of meals for a hungry family? If yes, do so. Don't hesitate to ask for precise multiples of the $25.37 request. High-dollar donors respond well to this approach, sending in checks for $2,537.00 to feed one hundred hungry families for a week. Quantification makes your request believable and implies that you're not asking for a penny more than you really need.

4. Convey a strong sense of urgency.

You are raising money so the hungry family can be fed now. Even if you know your agency is not truly dependent on the donor's $25.37 to feed them tomorrow, there are doubtless other families you'd like to help, or other services you'd like to provide. Paint people's need as the crisis is truly is.

5. Use a deadline whenever possible.

Nothing gives a sense of urgency as effectively as a specific date. If potential threats will become reality by October 23, say so. Reiterate the date throughout the letter and on the reply form. Urge the donor to respond before that date passes.

6. Help your donor identify with the people you're working for.

Your appeal must forge an emotional bond between the potential donor and the recipient of that donor's largesse. A wealthy city dweller may not easily identify with the alcoholic homeless man she passes on the street every day. But all human beings can understand pain, because we've all felt it. The fund raiser's challenge is to portray the homeless man's pain in terms that a prosperous person can understand and relate to.

7. Get emotional.

When you plan your next fund-raising appeal, try to push away the cobwebs of bureaucracy, burn-out, or habit that keep you at arm's length from your cause. Take time to see your organization afresh. Seek out those program people who are tirelessly dedicated to their work. Their enthusiasm can fire you up and give you wonderful new ideas for fund raising.

8. Use a case history; tell a story.

Having talked to your colleagues, you probably heard at least one case history that appalled, terrified, or inspired you. Use a compelling story in your fund-raising letter -- a vivid, moving story of someone who needs help. These stories are your most valuable asset when you write a fund-raising letter; incorporate them whenever you can.

9. Take a cold, clear look at past fund-raising results.

What has worked well for you in the past? Imitate it in the future. With updates and variations, your most successful appeal can often be used for years. Analyze your failures: Was your reply device confusing or incomplete? Was the copy dull? Or was the problem more subtle? Looking at less obvious failings can lead you to valuable conclusions. For example, your board's pet project may leave your donors cold. Only experience can teach lessons like these, so don't turn your back on your "bombs."

10. Personalize your donor mail if you can afford to.

And if you think you can't afford to, test it once. Often, the extra cost is made up by higher income. If you can't afford to personalize, make your package look as personal as you can. Can you make the letterhead look like personal stationery? Use a live third-class stamp instead of a meter or an indicia? Use a "hand-written note" to good effect? Most of all, you can make the copy look hand-typed by using a common typeface, by printing in black on white or pale pastel paper, and by using a second color (preferably blue) for the signature, underlines, and notes in the margins. You want to make your donor try to smudge the signature to see if it's hand-signed.

11. Make the outer ("carrier") envelope as compelling and dramatic as possible -- or leave it blank.

If you can afford to send a closed-face envelope by first class mail, do so -- and leave the envelope unadorned. But if you can't, do everything in your power to get the envelope opened some other way. Spend as much time thinking about the carrier envelope as you do editing letter copy. Write at least 10 different possible "teasers." Make the carrier envelope so intriguing, promising, or official-looking that the recipient can't ignore it. Put a lot of first-class creative energy into this, and your chances of getting the envelope opened will be markedly increased.

12. Drop that institutional brochure.

You know the one: It contains all the pertinent details about your organization. This indispensable piece is great for special events and for responding to inquiries, but it probably doesn't have a place in fund-raising packages. Test after test has proven that a good letter stands better alone than with an institutional brochure. On the other hand ...

13. Include an exciting enclosure in your package and watch results increase.

It can be a premium -- a decal, mailing labels, a membership card. Or it can be more directly tied to your fund-raising proposition. Use your imagination, starting with ideas like these: a "blueprint" for your new building; a photograph of that needy child with your hand-written note scrawled on the back; a budget memo from your finance director to your president, spelling out in detail why you urgently need money and what you'll spend it on.

14. Try an unusual format to boost response.

If you've always mailed No. 10 packages, try a monarch size. Or switch from a standard monarch to a 6" x 9" package. Investigate the many formats now available. Format variations may cost more to produce than your regular package, but a small increase in cost may bring a large lift in response by recapturing your donors' and prospects' attention.

15. Use a "lift letter" to perk up response.

Widely used in subscription marketing and sweepstakes mailings, the little folded note that says "Open this if you've decided to say no" can be successfully adapted to fund raising. Include a note from someone who needs the donor's help, from a celebrity, or from someone your organization has helped in the past. Make it brief and personal. It might be the only "extra" your package needs.

16. Lavish attention on your reply device.

Too often, we take this part of a mailing for granted. But, because it is the critical element of your package -- making it possible for people to send you money -- many experts recommend writing the reply device copy first. It crystallizes your fund-raising proposition and guarantees that you spend high-quality attention on a vital component. Make sure the basics are there: your name, address, and telephone number; restatement of your request and the gift amounts you want to receive; the donor's name, address, and code number, or sufficient space for a label; how to make out the check and fill in the credit card information; tax deductibility details. Make it fool-proof. And have several other people check it before you print it.

17. Use participation devices to get the donor involved.

Ask the donor to sign a petition, sign and return a Christmas card for a needy child, or fill out a survey. Most organizations have a reason to call public attention to their concerns at one time or another. When you do, make the participation device extremely simple to use. Pre-address the petition. Tell the donor how much postage it requires. On a survey, make your questions multiple-choice, and don't ask too many. Even asking your donor to sign a "Reply Memorandum" restating your case can be an effective participation device. Keep the whole concept easy enough for an intelligent 12-year-old to follow -- and don't distract the prospect too much from the essential participation: making a gift!

18. Offer a thank-you gift to your donor -- IF it relates closely to your organization, the donor's interests, or the project at hand.

You can raise your average gift by offering a back-end premium when the donor gives $25 or more. But be sure the donor will perceive value in this item, and be sure you can afford to send it. Used wisely, such a premium (sent to the donor with a thank-you note and a reply envelope) can work well and even generate a second contribution. Some charities are even awarding frequent-flyer miles as premiums, with eye-opening results. But never feel obligated to give your donor anything in return for a gift, except your "thank you."

19. Always thank the donor quickly.

It's easy for overworked staff members to delay sending thank-you notes, or to keep costs low by sending a pre-printed postcard (a false economy!). Spend time and money to thank your donors. Your letter can be short, but it must be warm and personal. It must tell the donor that his or her gift has already been put to work. It must come from the top person in your organization. And it should leave your office just as fast as you can turn it around. Gratitude serves as an excellent cement between you and your supporters. Neglecting your thank-you program is an unforgivable and expensive error.

20. Use your thank-you letter to ask for another gift -- softly.

Put away your bells and whistles, tone down your urgency, but use your thank-you letter to mention that another gift would be a wonderful boon. A "soft ask" in your letter, accompanied by a reply envelope, can bring a substantial response. But the request must take a back seat to your heartfelt thanks.

21. Write a personal fund-raising letter.

Don't let your letter sound like a business communication of any kind. You must write a compelling, one-person-to-another-person letter; you must pluck heart-strings; you must manipulate your donor's feelings; you must find a way to move him or her to give you money. If you are uncomfortable writing this way, delegate the task to another staff member or a professional writer, and assign yourself to job of editing.

22. Get to know your donors.

Open the reply mail and read the donors' notes. Go to your organization's special events. You must know your donors to make your fund raising effective. How old are they? What do they care about? Do they have children? Grandchildren? Do they own and use engraved personal stationery? These clues lead you to the style of letter -- and the overall approach -- that will move them to support your cause. At the very least, pick up the phone and call a donor every now and then, just to say "thank you."

23. Send long letters.

Your staff, your donors, even your friends and family will swear to you that those four-page letters are too long. It may be true that nobody reads these letters all the way through, but long letters almost always evoke a better response than short ones. This principle has been proven repeatedly through direct mail testing. As a general rule, your donor letters can easily take up two sides of a monarch-sized page at a minimum. Your prospect mail should probably be longer, though short formats can work well for organization that are household names. If you're convinced that your organization might be a rare exception to the long-copy rule, test your idea conservatively, in small quantities.

24. Find good vendors, and get three bids on every project.

Getting quality service from printers, data service bureaus, and lettershops is critical to your mailing's success, but so is keeping costs low. Use competitive bidding every time to assure that you're getting the best possible price. But don't sacrifice quality to get the rock-bottom price. Find a compromise between quality and economy by using the bidding process, communicating clearly with vendors, and giving them time to do the job correctly. Also, ask for references and talk to your colleagues to find the best suppliers.

25. Above all else, believe in your cause and respect your donor.

Direct mail fund raising produces the best results when its practitioners love their work, operate from a solid ethical foundation, and infuse their mailings with spirit and conviction. It's a fascinating field, with plenty of opportunities for creativity, excitement, and making a contribution to positive change. Enjoy it!