How Long Should Your Renewal Series Be?

by Stephen Hitchcock

One question comes up again and again when my colleagues and I meet with membership directors and development staff: How many membership renewal notices should be sent?

For most nonprofit groups we work with, our single most important service is to help them improve their membership renewal or annual giving mailing program. For many organizations, the series of renewal mailings is a victim of tragic neglect – perhaps because, in most cases, the content and design of renewal mailings are so prosaic and matter-of-fact.

But careful analysis almost always shows that for most direct mail programs, renewal mailings have the highest response rates . . . generate the greatest number of gifts (albeit, not necessarily with the highest average gifts) . . . and are the most cost-effective fundraising tool for an organization.

So, as you get your 1999 fundraising program underway, you may want to strengthen this already proven winner. And the most important improvement you can make is to add another mailing to your renewal or annual fund series.

What makes a renewal program work is, first of all, the fact that you let your members or donors know that it's been a year (or almost a year) since you've received a gift from them.

Our firm has polled and surveyed donors for numerous organizations. Again and again, lapsed or inactive donors indicate they didn't realize they hadn't sent a gift recently. A good renewal mailing, therefore, makes it very clear it's time once again to make that annual gift – whether it's a membership gift or a renewal of annual fund support.

A renewal program works, in the second place, because you send follow-up letters to those who don't respond. The other valuable piece of information we've learned from our firm's research is that the biggest reason individuals don't send a contribution is they just haven't gotten around to it.

Inertia . . . procrastination . . . too many things to do in life – these realities of human nature find an antidote in a renewal program with multiple reminders. After all, your renewal or annual fund mailings are going to individuals who have already contributed to you. They have at least a nodding acquaintance with your programs and want to support you. Only in the rarest of instances do donors or members stop supporting you because they're angry at your organization or no longer believe in the importance of what you're doing.

Thus each renewal mailing is a gentle reminder – a facilitator, if you will – that enables your donors to act on their best intentions. In addition, renewal letters work best when they offer additional reasons for sending a gift – especially, why a gift right now is crucial.

How many of those renewal or annual fund reminders should you send?

In almost every case, it's a big mistake to send fewer than four letters – an original renewal notice and three reminders. With some of our clients, we're sending 8, 9, or 10 renewal notices. We've even heard of organizations that have 14 mailings in their renewal series!

The best way to determine the actual number of reminders to send is to compare the response rate of your last renewal notice with that of your acquisition mailings. If the response rate is higher, then you're retaining donors at a lower cost than if you had to acquire new donors.

It's also important to note that, as you mail out additional reminders, you'll find that response rates to the early notices will go up. Most of us don't like to admit we're such procrastinators, so many donors or members apparently dig out that first or second renewal notice when they receive the sixth or seventh.

Another tip is to be selective in reminders. Your early renewal notices can cast a much larger net – including donors who've made only one gift, donors giving less than $10, and even those who haven't given for 18-36 months.

But as you add reminder notices, you'll want to mail to those who have made multiple gifts, those who have contributed more than $15 or $25, and those who have contributed within the last 24 months. These are great donors, and you don't want to lose them.

So, as you get yourself organized for 1999, plan now to add one or two mailings to your renewal or annual fund series. And when you come to the end of 1999, you'll surely be pleased with the results!

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• Mailing smarter means segmentation
• 9 steps to setting up a giving club
• 12 things to write in thank you letters to your donors
• 5 ways to conduct market research on a shoestring
• How formal? Mr. and Mrs. or Buffy and Skipper?
• 14 ways to cut design and production costs
• A fundraiser's view of caging and list maintenance