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Jan 3, 2020

My Fall In-Box

I don’t know about you, but I received far fewer direct mail appeals this fall (between October 1st and December 31st.) Last year, I received an even 50 direct mail appeals. This year, I received only 30. That’s a 40% decrease in volume, which is significant.

During the last week of the year, I received 99 e-mail appeals (this is the first year I have tracked this metric). Half of those came on the final two days of the year.

Here is a recap of the direct mail I received this year, and the insights I noted:

  • Of the 30 pieces of direct mail, 15 mailings were appeals from 8 organizations I have previously supported, while 15 pieces were new donor acquisition kits from 11 organizations.
  • Once again, I received the most pieces from The Salvation Army (7) – though four of the mailings were duplicates. I have supported The Army in two different Divisions, both of which sent me identical appeals. I contacted one Division about this issue last year, but the message must not have reached the right people.
  • World Vision and World Wild Life Found sent me the two catalogs I received
  • I did not receive any newsletters.
  • For acquisition, I received three premium packages. One was from St. Jude with address labels and a notepad, and I received two handbags from Doctors Without Borders.

My team and I are looking forward to analyzing all the end of year data these fall appeals have generated. We’re looking forward to seeing your data, too.

The Privatization of the United State Postal Service

The current administration has advocated for the privatization of the USPS. This initiative creates a lot of questions and sends a shiver down the spines of development directors for nonprofits that rely on mail appeals to raise a significant portion of their budgets....

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