I've just worked on seven different mailings for nonprofits in the last two months, the usual fall crush of everyone trying to get a mailer our before Thanksgiving.
I hope your organization is already in the mail and will soon start getting year-end donations, but if you're not, here are some ideas for a last-minute save. Thanks to some of my clients and colleagues for the ideas.
* Print a double-sided flyer on colored paper, or if you have a lot of brochures in stock, use those, and approach a local newspaper or free sales flyer about inserting them to support your good cause. If you include your website for making donations (you do have a page for online donations, don't you?), you may pick up enough new donors to make the modest expenditure more than worthwhile, if you consider the follow-up gifts you'll get from about 50% of these new donors.
* Approach local stores and ask them to stock your flyers or brochures, being sure to insert either a donation envelope or the URL of your website for donations.
* Send a January mailing, mentioning that a deductible donation is deductible in any year it's made. You'll find your mailer one of the few in the mailbox in that month. Many of my clients who do January mailings find it's the most profitable mailing of the year! (People are so busy at the holiday season a lot of fundraising appeals get lost in the shuffle.)
If you have some other ideas, post them here. It would be great if we could compile a list of these ideas. I'd be happy to host it on my website.
Happy many returns!
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Thanks Rachael. Very informative and helpful. I will copy and save this page for future reference. Aloha, Paul.
ReplyDeleteGlad you find it helpful! Good luck in the mail.
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