Agenda Introductions Definitions Using Direct Mail Effectively as - PDF document

9/8/2016 Agenda • Introductions • Definitions Using Direct Mail Effectively as • Context A Key to Sustainability • Recruitment Systems • Using Direct Mail to Recruit Members David Allen, Development for Conservation • Metrics Pam Geary, Western Pennsylvania Conservancy • A Consortium Approach September 2016 • Questions and Conclusions The Essential Case 1. Land trusts need unrestricted money INTRODUCTIONS 2. Individual donors who regularly give unrestricted money provide the most reliable source of unrestricted funding How many individual donors gave money not named “Endowment” (as a gift!) of ANY amount to your organization in 2015? The Essential Case The Essential Case 3. The most effective and efficient method 5. Writing effective fundraising letters, of soliciting annually renewable, testing direct mail packages, and working unrestricted gifts is through the mail with list brokers and mailhouses are skills that can be learned and developed 4. The most effective and efficient method of attracting new annually renewable donors is also through the mail – targeted direct mail solicitation 1

9/8/2016 Context Context • Year 0 12,000 Prospects (Letters) • By “members” we mean: • Year 1 100 New Members Donors whose annual (or more often) • Year 2 45 First Year Renewals gifts are both expected and unrestricted • • • Membership (renewal) money is the • easiest money to raise and the hardest to • screw up • Year 10 15 ‐ 25 Remain Context Context • So….. – Recruitment mail rarely breaks even WHY Do You Want Members? – You raise money from people who already give you money – from renewals Planning Strategic Planning Imagine that your Strategic Mission Fundraising Goal Plan requires you to increase Total expenses less $$ from other revenue sources. Strategy Strategy annual funding by 50-100% (Direction, Activities) (Direction, Activities) within the next 5 years. Plans Plans (Measurable in (Measurable in Time & Scope) Time & Donors) What would you do? Budget Budget 2

9/8/2016 Planning Direct Mail How do you recruit new donors now? Pros Cons • Predictable • Expensive • Direct Mail • Email • Individuals tend to renew in • Intimidating and not intuitive • Social Media response to the same media in • On ‐ Line – People find us which they were recruited • No experience • Table/Booth • Member ‐ get ‐ a member campaigns Well ‐ studied and understood • • Waste of resources • Gift Memberships • Door ‐ to ‐ door • Scalable • Unseemly • Other? Lists • List of your current donors MECHANICS – The Process • House list • Lists you trade for • Lists you purchase (rent) What the Broker does What the Mailhouse does • NCOA scrubbing • Research lists that might be available • Current member and DONOTMAIL • Suggest lists that you might consider scrubbing • Negotiate terms with list sellers • Merge/Purge • Coded List and Second List 3

9/8/2016 What the Mailhouse does • Merges the Name/Address data into the letter and envelope files MECHAN MECHANICS ICS – – The Letter he Letter • Seals the envelopes • Sorts the mail for the post office to get the lowest available postage Rule #1 Testing • A/B Tests – make sure everything else is held constant If you’re not testing, you’re • Code the response cards not learning. • Make sure each test group is demographically identical Rule #2 Editing • Every number in your draft letter is suspect. Take ‘em out. The secret to good writing is • Use the we/us/our filter: do these in the editing. pronouns include the reader? 4

9/8/2016 Editing Rule #3 • Use the Flesch ‐ Kincaid reading ease tool and write letters at the 6 th grade level (OK, maybe 8 th ) Don’t tell me, SHOW me. • Is there an ask on each page? Is the ask clear and obvious? Tell a Story Rule #4 • Stories convey emotion • Stories stimulate the imagination • Stories move us to action Technique matters. • Make it a story about one person (Don’t trust yourself and don’t trust your • Make it first person donors when it comes to technique.) • Make the donor the hero Useful Techniques Rule #5 • Write longer letters • Include a PS Note • Communicate urgency Design for older, female eyes. • Tell a story, or several • Be corny, be obvious • Clearly ask for a specific amount of money 5

9/8/2016 Design Rule #6 • 13 pt type • 1.15 pt line spacing Have a Call to Action. • Double space between paragraphs Make it urgent. • 1.25 inch margins • Serif font Make it specific. • High contrast paper • Minimal graphics; no print over graphics BARRIERS Metrics WHY AREN’T WE ALL DOING THIS? Measuring Your Results How much I like Vanity Graphics Keep track of: • Where donors come from (Sourcecode) • How much they give, cumulatively, each year (I use January 9 – January 8) • How much it cost to recruit them and how much it costs to “serve” them each year TIME 6

9/8/2016 Derivative Information Net Present Value • NPV is the value of each member over time. • # individual donors who give (any amount) of money each year • NPV is the sum of all of their gifts (x) minus • Renewal rate the cost of maintaining their membership • Cost to raise one dollar (initial mailing costs, renewal mailing costs, newsletters, benefits, premiums, and so on) • Cost to recruit one member (y), divided by the number of recruited • Net present value members (N) • Comparative information by source • (x ‐ y)/N • Comparative information by year Net Present Value Net Present Value For Example For Example • Say you mail 12,000 letters for $8,500 to get • 3 ‐ year NPV = $12 100 new members • Say they give you $40 each on average = $4,000 • 5 ‐ year NPV = $109 • First year’s worth of newsletters, event invitations, and renewal notices cost $2,000, and • 10 ‐ year NPV = $800+ • 45 renew at $80 = $3,600 • 2 ‐ year NPV = ($7,600 ‐ 10,500)/100 = ‐ $29 The Importance of the 2 nd Gift Net Present Value For Example First Year Renewals (Second Gifts) • Say you mail 12,000 letters for $8,500 to get 100 new members • Direct Mail = 40 ‐ 45% • Say they give you $40 each on average = • They find you & mail a check = 40 ‐ 45% $4,000 • They find you on ‐ line = 35 ‐ 40% • First year’s worth of newsletters event • Project Appeals = 25 ‐ 30 % invitations and renewal notices cost $2,000, • Social Media/Email = 15 ‐ 20% and • Special Events = 15 ‐ 20% • 45 renew at $80 = $3,600 • Gift Memberships = 5 ‐ 10% • 2 ‐ year NPV = ($7,600 ‐ 10,500)/100 = ‐ $29 • Tabling = 5 ‐ 10% 7

9/8/2016 THANK YOU! HUH? Services Assessment, Planning, Training, Coaching You can raise more money for your organization – I can help. fundraisinghelp@sbcglobal.net 608/239 ‐ 5006 8

D AVID A LLEN I am a non-profit organizational development consultant. I work with organization boards to help their members learn how to be better leaders and advocates. My background includes 30 years working in membership fundraising, major donor development, communications, and marketing. I worked for about half that time for Nature Conservancy (TNC) chapters in Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin. In addition to my duties for the individual chapters, I served TNC as an internal fundraising consultant and major donor development trainer. In 2000, served as the vice-president of operations for the Wisconsin-based, international conservation organization Sand County Foundation, a position I held through mid-2009. Gathering Waters Conservancy, a land trust service agency based in Wisconsin, called me in 2002 to ask whether I would be interested in teaching a seminar for Wisconsin land trusts on major donor development. From 2002, then, through 2009, I consulted on a nights and weekends basis with just a few clients each year. In March of 2009, I launched my consulting business full-time using the name Development for Conservation . Also in 2009, I partnered with Peter McKeever and Nancy Moore to form Conservation Consulting Group. Together we help land trusts prepare for accreditation by providing assessment, planning, and leadership coaching services. I consider myself a strategic thinker, problem solver, facilitator, educator, and program developer who brings a particular passion for conservation and the environment. Practice Competencies Fundraising Organizational Development • Development Audit • Strategy Development • Staff/Board Training and Development • Practice & Process Assessment • Major Gift Coaching • Problem Solving Facilitation • Capital Campaigns • Marketing

David Allen Development for Conservation fundraisinghelp@sbcglobal.net 608-239-5006 608 West Dean Avenue Monona, WI 53716 www.developmentforconservation.com