don rhoten, cfre mmc foundation, president/ceo donrhoten donrhoten@gmail @ donrhoten

Don Rhoten, CFREMMC Foundation, President/CEO

www.donrhoten.comdonrhoten@gmail.com

@DonRhoten

Direct Mail: Why do we care?

2

1. Inform2. Educate3. Research 4. ENGAGE!5. Any others??

Why?

• 65% of first-time donors never make a 2nd giftSource: 2012 Cygnus Donor Survey Report

• Charities send on average 14 pieces per yearSource: Lawrence Henze, J.D. “Taking Control of Your Annual Fund”

What is the point?

How about Raising Money?

The most important aspect of DM?

The most important aspect of DM?

DONOR

Everyone raise your hands!

DM: the art?

Direct Mail: Techniques

1. Roles and Responsibilities2. Timeline3. Theme4. Brand 5. Understand your audience6. Be thoughtful in your writing

How to run a successful DM program!

Understand roles before the mailing:1. Writer2. Designer3. “Envelope stuffers” / Mailing House4. Editor(s)

Roles and Responsibilities

Understand roles after the mailing:1. Donation processing2. Database management3. Thank you letters4. Follow-up phone calls

Roles and Responsibilities

Set a timeline for each mailing piece…

…..BEFORE the year begins.

Timeline

Calendar

Color Code

Red: Ask

Blue: General

Prior to any designing or writing, develop a theme:

Simple - Compelling - Memorable

The theme is carried throughout all the pieces and into the writing.

Theme

Theme

Every piece should have a consistent color palette, font style, imagery, writing style, etc…

Includes: mailing envelope, letterhead, response card, response envelope, premium, etc…

Brand

Brand

Brand

1. Conquer your database2. Collect and maintain personal information

(appropriately)3. Learn Microsoft Excel!!!

- IF statements- CEILING statements- Nested IF statements

Understand The Audience

=IF(K38/I38>7500,CEILING(K38/I38,250),IF(K38/I38>5000,CEILING(K38/I38,100),IF(K38/I38>1000,CEILING(K38/I38,50),IF(K38/I38>500,CEILING(K38/I38,25),IF(K38/I38>100,CEILING(K38/I38,10),CEILING(K38/I38,5))))))Taking an average and rounding numbers so multiple decimal places are appearing and assigning specific amounts.

=IF(I22>1, "gifts","gift")Looking at if there is one gift or more than one, then using “gift” or “gifts”

In some letters we have over 20 personal fields.

Understanding Excel

• Be cautious of the “strategy cloud” • Focus on the donor and the mission • Avoid inflammatory language• The donor always comes first• Be genuine, considerate, and thoughtful

Be Donor-centric

Thoughtful Writing

We aren’t raising money.

We are engaging and connecting with people.

These people are donors.

Remember