Hooray!

I'm happy to report some good year-end returns for several of my direct mail and grant development clients, including:

* A social services agency doubled their year-end mailing returns by following up the main appeal with a brief reminder a few weeks later to those who hadn't responded.

* A total of $650,000 raised in grants to date for a small renovation project -- more than half of the total needed, with 12 months more to go in the campaign.

* Increased year-end mailing returns for a nonprofit that supplements the high cost of energy through the winter months for low-income people.

Hopefully, as we move further into 2011, we'll see increases in returns from mailings and grant-seeking, with the economy improving and the stock market coming back, thereby increasing the endowments for many foundations that had pulled back on grant-making due to the shrinking of income from their assets.

Hooray for an encouraging end to 2010 and a good start to 2011 in fundraising through the mail and grants! If you have "Hooray" stories to share, I'd love to hear about them. Positive news cheers us all in this field.