The NonProfit Times - November 1, 2008 - (Page 28)

THE 2008 NPT TOP 100 Continued from page 26 “While not the industry norm, we are finding that donors acquired via non-traditional methods (online, email, radio, etc.) are appearing to show greater retention and repeat gift rates than those acquired by paper,” said Megan Hawkes, director donor marketing and development. Funding for new donor acquisition has continued to drop as paper costs for new donor acquisition have slowed down.“We are in no way reducing the effort placed on new donor acquisition, as it is vital for growth, and even more so in current economic conditions,” Hawkes said.“Unless we are continually seeking new donors to engage in our ministry, we will suffer from the even higher costs -- both immediate and long term -- of the affects of donor attrition to our donor base.” Several CCCI ministries made changes from 2006 to 2007 in direct marketing efforts, such as mailing less frequently, Hawkes said, while others that did not invest in new donor acquisitions historically saw substantial attrition to mailing lists. There also have been efforts to eliminate duplicate mailings, over-mailing and overall data clean up. The cost savings has been reflected in Return on Investment (ROI) within a number of ministries, she said, contributing to the reduction in expense. Not all organizations enjoyed a corresponding boost in revenue from an increase in fundraising costs. For CARE (26), fundraising expenses increased by $1.9 million to $25.4 million, while its public support slipped $49.1 million, to $606.2 million in fiscal 2007. The additional fundraising expenses were due to event costs, an increase in travel and transportation costs to visit donors and constituents, and a focus on growing its donor file, said Jo Hodges, deputy director at CARE.“Some new fundraising programs, such as our donor acquisition efforts within direct marketing, caused an increase in our expense,” Hodges explained.“We did not invest in 2006 at levels needed to grow our donor file, so an increase in 2007 was necessary.” Where cutbacks are starting to be seen is administrative programs and softness in fundraising activities, especially for special events, said Kurre. Some of those special events are not meeting targets that they were last year, according to Kurre, who’s seen organizations cancel or postpone special events because of a lack of interest. The special events that are still doing well are those where an honoree is a top titan of industry who has adopted that particular event and will have many 28 NOVEMBER 1, 2008 THE NONPROFIT TIMES www.nptimes.com http://www.mitchstuart.com/destinations http://www.mitchstuart.com/destinations http://www.nptimes.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The NonProfit Times - November 1, 2008

The NonProfit Times - November 1, 2008 Reach Out Community Investment Loans Agencies Aim For Back Office Savings Contents Page 4 Special Report: An In-Depth Study of America's Largest Profits Charity Accounts Foretold Ecomonic Meltdown Liquid Assets Groups Shaving Expenses With An Eye Toward ROI Green Is Good Governance Becoming Institutionalized National September 11 Memorial & Museum Finds Its Footing NPT 100 Groups Turning Real Estate Into Cash NPT 100 Investments Beat Broader Market The NPT Power & Influence Top 50 Gala Calendar NPT Jobs Resource Directory

The NonProfit Times - November 1, 2008

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