The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - (Page 7) THAT FAMILIAR FEELING Continued from page 1 Powerful computer programs and increasingly sophisticated donor databases have increased the allure of customizing direct mail campaigns to local audiences. A number of national retailers, for example, have adopted the technique of sending customers promotions based on their spending habits. But the results have been mixed among nonprofits. Many organizations, including the ARC, have long run much of their fundraising through local chapters and see no reason to change.Yet the idea of customizing mailers from the national headquarters to local tastes has not drawn a mass number of converts. “It’s wonderful to have all this technology at your disposal and be able to slice and dice everything,” said Christopher Dann, president of Drakes Bay Fundraising in Larkspur, Calif., that assists or manages nonprofit campaigns. “But if you don’t have to jazz it up, you probably shouldn’t.” Before deciding to localize an appeal, he advocates running a campaign through a matrix of long-established guideposts, including an organization’s relationship to donors, factors that trigger responses and the objectives, such as retaining donors, boosting their contributions or bringing in new ones. ments for each of the 70 local chapters the association had in 2004.This automatically puts some people on the mailing list and rules out others no matter where they live. For donors in between, geographic analysis steps into the equation.“For a $10 donor who has lapsed a couple of years, the national view might be that soliciting that donor would just break even,” said Finstad.“But in some areas, it only costs 60 cents to raise a dollar, but in other areas it is $1.50.You just need a pair of eyes to determine where the line should be drawn.” The lesson of localizing what the donor sees was driven home in 2004, said Finstad, when new management attempted to improve efficiency by trying a generic national appeal.This saved money by eliminating such things as local post office boxes in favor of a national address. As contributions sank, the association quickly re-established the local connection. Tests showed that in Hawaii, Puerto Rico and certain parts of the South, contributions jumped by as much as 40 percent when donors saw a return envelope with a local address. But the experience at the ARC was not so definitive, according to Perell. People in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia, who had written checks for national disaster relief funds in 2005, were sent two sets of newsletters urging them to begin regular contributions to local chapters. Only in Philadelphia did the response rate of donors to a locally tailored newsletter exceed the one to the generic one sent nationwide, and then only by a small margin. Likewise, the ARC experimented in 2004 with sending localized newsletters to mid-level donors at 20 chapters. “The results were inconclusive,” said Perell. “We could not justify continuing the test but we will try others.We will definitely continue testing.” NPT Sorting donors into tightly defined categories, generally called segments, can help an organization boost direct mail’s effectiveness. “We have 120 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising to tell us what works and what doesn’t,” he said. “We can’t let ourselves get captivated by technology.” Craig Zeltsar, an account director at the fundraising consultant and manager Thompson Habib Denison in Lexington, Mass., sees the value of localization in selecting who receives a mailer. In this role, he has had the ALA as a client. “Geography makes a difference,” he said. “There are chapters next door to each other in the same state that perform differently.” Sorting donors into tightly defined categories, generally called segments, can help an organization boost direct mail’s effectiveness by pinpointing likely donors. However, he noted, building an effective model that turns up useful patterns is just as important as the data itself. From that standpoint, human judgment remains the key element in not being overwhelmed by massive mounds of data. That is the approach taken by the ALA, according to Craig Finstad, assistant vice president of direct response operations. Each donor is placed in a segment according to the recency, frequency and monetary value, or RFM, he said. Each mail effort is broken into nearly 65,000 segments, with more than 900 seg- A Team of Trusted Advisors. Not an Army of Salespeople. Your day includes dealing with an extraordinary number of tasks. Some are large and important. Others are small –– and still important. That’s the beauty –– and challenge –– of being a nonprofit. At Telosa, we work exclusively with nonprofits, providing intuitive, expandable and cost-effective fundraising and information management software that allows you to remain focused on the task at hand, as well as your long term goals. By committing to you as a partner who learns the specifics of your organization and situation, we can guide and advise you to the best solution, then remain a close resource as your needs shift. Whether you’re using an internally developed database or coming from another fundraising software program, there’s no need to fear software changes –– and no reason to overpay for complex alternatives. Contact Telosa today. Most of us –– including our founder –– come from the nonprofit world, so we’ve walked in your shoes and support your efforts. We’d love to hear your story and help to simplify your life. Find out more at www.telosa.com. TELOSA: Fundraising and Information Management Software for Nonprofits www.telosa.com / info@telosa.com / 800.676.5831 / 650.853.1100 SEPTEMBER 15, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com 7 http://www.telosa.com http://www.telosa.com http://www.telosa.com http://www.nptimes.com
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 Shock And Awe Makes An Impression That Familiar Feeling Lessons From 'Lenny' Grab Attention of Millennials Contents Protected From Whom? Information Sharing Donors Want More Briefs Diversity Recruitment Calendar Catholic Fundraising Guide NPT Jobs Resource Directory The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Lessons From 'Lenny' Grab Attention of Millennials (Page 1) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Lessons From 'Lenny' Grab Attention of Millennials (Page 2) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Contents (Page 3) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Contents (Page 4) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Contents (Page 5) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Contents (Page 6) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Contents (Page 7) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Contents (Page 8) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Protected From Whom? (Page 9) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Information Sharing (Page 10) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Donors Want More (Page 11) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Briefs (Page 12) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Diversity Recruitment (Page 13) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Calendar (Page 14) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Calendar (Page 15) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Catholic Fundraising Guide (Page 16) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Catholic Fundraising Guide (Page 17) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Catholic Fundraising Guide (Page 18) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - NPT Jobs (Page 19) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Resource Directory (Page 20) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Resource Directory (Page 21) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Resource Directory (Page 22) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Resource Directory (Page 23) The NonProfit Times - September 15, 2008 - Resource Directory (Page 24)
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.