Need New Direct Mail Donors? Look For These Three Qualities For Fundraising Letter Success.

New donors are a lot closer than you may think. And

persuading them to make that vital first donation

need not be as hard—or as

expensive—as acquiring

them in other ways.




But before you rent a list of names or drop anything

in the mail, examine the people you are approaching

with your direct mail appeal to make sure they are

good prospects for a donation today—and

tomorrow. You should look for three qualities in potential direct

mail donors.




1. Capacity to give

Good direct mail fundraising prospects have the

resources to support your organization with gifts.

They do not need to be millionaires (since you will

accept small donations). They do not even need to

be employed (since many pensioners donate a

portion of their fixed income to their favourite

charities). The criteria you are looking for is simply

the capacity to give.




2. Affinity with your cause

The best prospects have a natural liking for your

organization. They identify with the people you help

or the cause that you champion. You are more likely

to attract financial support and gain new donors

when you mail your acquisition letters to people who

already believe in what you stand for.




3. Long-term, profitable relationship

Raising funds through the mail is a long-term

proposition. What you are looking for is donors who

will support you over time. One-time donations are

welcome, of course, but if they are too small they do

not even cover the cost of acquisition. You want

donors, not just donations.




One reason that charity sweepstakes and lotteries

are such an expensive way to raise funds is that

they tend to raise money in the short-term only, and

do not attract long-term, faithful, loyal donors who

are committed to your cause.




So you need to look at every source of potential

donors and ask yourself this question, "What is the

likelihood that these prospects will not only respond

to my mailing with a gift now, but will also follow

through in the years to come with others gifts?"




One mistake to avoid

One mistake that inexperienced fundraisers make is

thinking that their best prospects for direct mail

appeals are big businesses and well-known, wealthy

people. When they think of who to mail their appeals

to, they immediately think of Bill Gates of

Microsoft—not Bob Gates down the street.

They think of extraordinary businesses—not

the ordinary business owners that operate all around

them.




This is a mistake because it concentrates attention

on only one obvious criteria of donor

acquisition—capacity to give—and

ignores the other two.




Take Bill Gates by way of example. He meets your

first criteria, since he is the wealthiest man in the

world. He has the capacity to give you a donation,

the largest you've ever received. But if your

organization is at all typical, Bill Gates has little or

zero affinity with your cause and does not even

know about you. Which means Bill Gates is not a

long-term prospect, or even a prospect at all, for a direct

mail solicitation.




So the thing to bear in mind whenever you are

looking for new donors is that they should meet all

three of the above criteria. They should not just be

wealthy (with no affinity). And not just have an

affinity (they may believe in your cause but be

bankrupt). When potential donors pass all three

tests, you will avoid disappointment, and save a lot

of money in donor acquisition and donor renewal

costs.