Learn more about analytics and research best practices, as well as real world examples and solutions for nonprofits.

RECENT POSTS

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.

One More Gift from Sustainers

I think we’d all agree that sustainers are great. Having a group of donors that have committed to giving every month is like money in the bank. And, not surprisingly, a lot of organizations are careful to limit additional appeals to this group so not to alienate any...

read more

Early Returns

We are knee-deep in analyzing last fall’s results. While there is of course some variation in results by organization, the general narrative is that last fall wasn’t great . . . but it wasn’t awful either. It was just OK. What we are seeing is that overall revenue was...

read more

How Fundraising Will Evolve

In honor of International Data Week, I’m sharing how the future of fundraising will evolve. Many people are concerned about fundraising (I’m not btw). For nearly two decades, the “experts” have been predicting the death of direct mail fundraising. Eventually, the...

read more

ARCHIVES

© 2020 Analytical Ones