In short, because it will make you money. Today and into the future. In fact, it may be the most secure method of fundraising to invest in during a downturn.
But I would say that, wouldn’t I? I run a direct marketing agency.
Well let’s look at the data.
Of the five donor mailings we produced for clients last Christmas for which we have results and a valid comparator, four did better than in 2007 in terms of response rate and income. Average gifts varied - some steady, some up, some down. But overall income for the four in question was up on 2007.
OK, so donors are still giving. What about recruitment?
If anything, the picture is even better. Each of the four campaigns where we can benchmark against a previous campaign show better results for Christmas 2008 than 12 months previously.
Ah, you say, but the economy is deteriorating at such a pace that last Christmas isn’t relevant anymore. There’s another 100,000 people out of work. We’ve been battered, bludgeoned and budgeted by bad news. And anyway, Christmas was a last hurrah, the celtic tiger donors dispensing the last of their alms before battening down the hatches and canceling their foreign holidays, kitchen extensions and charity direct debits.
Actually, no. The sky hasn’t fallen in in 2009. It’s early days yet, but we’ve got initial results in from two campaigns so far and both are up - significantly - on 2008. And that’s for donor mailings and cold recruitment.
Donors are still giving. New donors are still signing up. While many of us are understandably trimming back it seems clear that, for ordinary people, the desire to help others is as strong - or stronger - than ever. Philanthropy is not the first thing go. Far from it.
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Conor 04.14.09 at 4:33 pm
That’s great to read, may re post the news if that’s ok?
I noticed in one of your recent mailings that you spoke a lot about the recession. Did you find that has worked for you? I have been hearing its not the route to go?
damian 04.14.09 at 4:47 pm
Conor - as ever, feel free to re-post.
Some of our campaigns have tackled the recession head on. Others have made reference to it. Others haven’t mentioned it at all. I don’t have any of our own data to say which works, but I think context is vital. We did one campaign for a client last September which was practically dripping with talk of the recession and cutbacks. It was wildly successful. But the economic situation was entirely relevant to the ask in that case. The only test data I’ve seen is from the UK and reported on queer ideas and they found that mentioning the recession didn’t make a difference to response, but depressed average gifts. It’s something we’ll be testing in the near future.
Kevin 04.15.09 at 8:03 am
Damian - your experience is mirrored by ours.
All Christmas 2008 appeals were successful, some astoundingly so. For one homeless charity, reassuring donors that despite the recession the vital work would continue had a massive uplift both in response rate and gift level. It is the context that counts and relevancy to the cause.
It would seem that 1st quarter campaigns are also fairing well across the channels especially in warm appeals.
Your point about investing in DM is well-made. In fact, a recession is never the time to cut back on investment in income generation, charities need the support of donors as much now as ever, and it is the job of fundraisers to let donors know not just how much we need their help but also how much we value it.
damian 04.15.09 at 5:35 pm
Kevin - you’re dead right. And I’d go further and say now is the time to be telling donors what an amazing difference their gifts are making - something that may be more the case now than ever before.