Cross-Channel Fundraising Tips and Trends

According to the recent “Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2011” by Giving USA 2012, individual donations increased by 4 percent in 2011 (as compared to 2010) to $217.79 billion in contributions. In other words, things — such as donor dollars! — are looking up for fundraisers.

However, many nonprofits continue to face budget constraints along with hesitant donor prospects, and the transition from a direct mail-centric organization to a truly multichannel engine has been rough for many … or has yet to truly occur.

Direct Marketing IQ is here to help with “Cross-Channel Fundraising Tips and Trends.” We pulled endless amounts of data from our direct mail and email archives (the most complete direct marketing archive in the world) and are presenting the current fundraising trends, including comparisons of 2011 to 2010, as well as giving a glimpse of how 2012 is shaping up.

Including direct mail and email stats and trends, winning techniques for premiums, freemiums and donor strings, and nine chapters on multichannel fundraising best practices such as: 

• 11 Simple Ways to Increase Direct Mail Fundraising by Kirk Swain and Robert Salta
• 4 Direct Mail Fundraising Best Practices by Joe Boland
• The Obama Effect: 20 Takeaways for Multichannel Fundraisers by Britt Brouse
• 4 Email Fundraising Campaign Best Practices by Joe Boland
• The 7 Steps to Multichannel Success By Karin Kirchoff and Jeff Regen

VII INTRODUCTION 

MAIL TRENDS 

Volume

Volume Comparisons, 2010 vs. 2011
Repeat Email
Grand Controls
Top 10 Fundraisers by Volume
Top 5 Fundraisers by Volume - by Category

Animals/Wildlife

Children

Clubs/Associations

Cultural Organizations

Culture

Environment

Health/Handicapped

International Relief

Local Relief

Minority Groups

Performing Arts

Politics

Religion

Social Action (Causes)

Sports/Olympics

Seasonality Trends

Monthly Mailings

Package Trends 
Package Formats 
Package Dimensions 

Offer Types
Acquisition, Retention, Expire Mailing 

Techniques 
Personalization/VDP, Premium, Freemium, Sweepstakes 
Premium Usage 
Top 20 Premiums - 2010 vs. 2011 
Freemium Usage 
Top 20 Freemiums - 2010 vs. 2011 
Sweepstakes Offers 
Top 10 Sweepstakes Offers 
Donor Strings 
Top 10 Donor Strings 

Volume 
Email Volume, by Year 
Repeat Email Volume 
Top 10 Fundraising Categories by Email Volume 
Email Monthly Volume 
Daily Email Volume

Word Count
Average Word Count
Repeat Email Word Count
Top 10 Categories by Highest Word Count
Bottom 5 Categories by Lowest Word Count
Delivery Days & Times
Email Volume by Day of the Week
Percentage Emails Delivered by Time of Day
Subject Lines
Top 10 Symbols in Email Subject Lines
Top 20 Words in Subject Lines

11 Simple Ways to Increase Direct Mail Fundraising by Kirk Swain and Robert Salta
4 Direct Mail Fundraising Best Practices by Joe Boland
Get Out of Your Direct Mail Comfort Zone by Pamela Barden
To Stand Out, Mailers Can’t Be Afraid to, Well, Stand Out by Lon-Given Chapman
The Obama Effect: 20 Takeaways for Multichannel Fundraisers by Britt Brouse
4 Email Fundraising Campaign Best Practices by Joe Boland
Are Your Online and Offline Efforts in Sync? By Jeff Brooks
The 7 Steps to Multichannel Success By Karin Kirchoff and Jeff Regen
The Evolution of Multichannel Fundraising By Mark Sutton

Michigan Humane Society: The Aggressive, Integrated Donor-Acquisition Campaign
North Texas Food Bank: An Award-Winning Campaign That Created More Symbiotic Relationships Among Staff, Volunteers and Donors
CaringBridge: Its “You Are Powerful” Campaign Empowered Donors Through Every Channel
HealthConnect One: Getting the Board ‘on Board’ Proves to Be Key for This End-of-the-Year Campaign
Oceana: Discovering a Message Flow, Contact Cadence and Campaign Theme That Works for Donors VI

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