April 05

Names! by Mal Warwick

Keep those intangibles coming by Deborah Block and Paul Karps

By Mal Warwick

FROM TIME TO TIME I've seen nonprofit organizations mail packages to their donors, asking for the names and addresses of prospective new donors. I've even done it myself for several clients. But I've never seen it done better than in this powerful appeal from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation (Quantico VA).

In every respect, from the name of the campaign ("Operation Gung ho!") to the blunt language of the appeal, to its red, white, and blue color scheme, this winning package takes the prize for its appropriate match of medium and message to the cause.

"The results were amazing," reports Lisa Maska at Lautman & Company (Washington DC), the Foundation's consulting agency. "Thousands of names were collected. Some donors even sent in entire lists of names and membership rosters. And nearly 7% of those mailed sent in money as well, so the mailing netted a significant amount. The names were the real treasure, though, because they are two or three times as likely to respond as the rented lists. We included them in our four quarterly acquisition mailings, and they consistently perform well."

The contents of this package included the following:

A white, closed-face, #10 carrier, printed in red and blue and laser-addressed;

A two-page, 8-1/2 x 11" letter, lasered on one side only, with page one printed in blue and red;

[for page 2 click here]

An 8-1/2 x 11" laser-personalized response device printed in red, blue, and black on the front and black only on the reverse;

and

A pre-addressed white #9 reply envelope printed in black only.

If you needed convincing that direct mail can serve as more than just an immediate conduit for raising funds, I hope you're convinced!

Congratulations and Successful Direct Mail, Telephone & Online Fundraising Award Certificates to the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation, P. O. Box 998, Quantico VA 22134-0998, phone (800) 397-7585,

Web www.marineheritage.org, and to Lautman & Company, 1730 Rhode Island Avenue N.W., Suite 301, Washington DC 20036, phone (202) 296-9660, fax (202) 466-2312, e-mail lmaska@lautmandc.com.

Keep those intangibles coming
By Deborah Block and Paul Karps

IN OUR LAST column, we discussed strategies to acknowledge a donor in a fundraising letter. As in, "Thanks to your generous support, we were able to . . ." Now, we'll turn this concept on its head.

Instead of thanking the donor for all she's helped accomplish, we'll focus on ways you can express the intangible offer that's central to a package's overall Marketing Concept.

In other words, if someone makes a gift, what can she expect to receive in return? Not tangible benefits, mind you. But rather in terms of how to advance the organization's mission.

An added bonus: These tips can be used in both donor and acquisition mailings!

The direct Ask

The most basic way to state the intangible offer is to make it part of the primary, direct Ask for money — whether it's on page one, on the letter's last page, or anywhere in between.

For example, "That's why I'm asking you to help protect our priceless environment — by sending a gift today to Save the World."

See what's really going on here? It's an implied contract between the reader and the nonprofit. Just stated in the reverse.

Following up the Ask

Another way we commonly phrase the intangible offer is as a quick follow-up to the Ask. As in, "When you do, we can continue our determined efforts to . . ." Or, "With your immediate contribution, we can . . ."

This, as you can tell, can be a great lead-in to a programmatic discussion of what you'll be able to achieve — once you have the gift.

Positioning your agenda

You may recall that in our last column we suggested you could position your nonprofit's successes as being a direct result of the donor's participation. Now the idea is to articulate your future agenda as being contingent on the recipient's generosity.

If you're giving a bulleted list of activities, you can begin this way: "With you by our side, in the coming weeks and months we can . . ." Then start each bullet with an action verb.

If you want to go into more depth about your various plans, use "Through your help" — or some variation — as you introduce each issue.

The big close

One technique to finish off a letter on an emotional high point is the old "Together . . .Together" tag-team trick. We might say something like this: "Together, you and I can protect the environment from its shortsighted enemies. Together, we can do our part to leave a healthier, safer world to all those who follow in our footsteps!"

Once again, it's a contract. Send money and this is what you can expect.

The big caveat

Hyperbole aside, ethics demand you hedge your bets and not over-promise your intangible offer. That's why well-placed qualifiers — such as "can" or "may" versus "will" — can make all the difference. Ditto for "do all we can" or "everything in our power." Also, even when highlighting a specific project, be sure to keep your Asks unrestricted (if need be). For instance, qualify your Ask by including such language as "Your gift can help us pass H.R. 1 — and support all we do to save our world."

Deborah Block and Paul Karps are partners in BK Kreative, 1010 Varsity Court, Mountain View CA 94040, phone (650) 962-9562, fax (650) 962-1499, e-mail bkkreative@aol.com.

What's up online
By Dan Weeks

April is Autism Month, and while there are many fine nonprofit organizations working to end this terrible disease, the one with the Web site I like best is Cure Autism Now.

Cure Autism Now (CAN) was founded by parents of children with autism in 1995. Since then, they've grown from a kitchen-table effort to the largest provider of support for autism research and resources in the country. The organization's primary focus is to fund research to identify the causes, prevention, treatment and cure for autism and related disorders.

CAN's Web site, at www.cureautismnow.org, is clean, well-organized and easy to navigate. Features include press clippings, accomplishments, FAQ's, multiple ways to give and help, information on a Cure Autism Now credit card, and a photo gallery that really brings home what's at stake.

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