Charitable Donations Decline; Direct Mail Still Key to Fundraising

By Chantal Tode on June 9th, 2010

Overall charitable donations fell 3.6% in 2009 for a total of $303.75 billion while individual giving fell an estimated 0.4%, according to a new report from Giving USA Foundation.

Overall, the results were better than expected for a year beset by economic turmoil and predictions that non-profit organizations would be among those most hurt by the financial pinch.

Education, grant making foundations, arts and culture organizations and public-society benefit organizations all saw a decline in giving last year while donations were up for human services, health, international aid and environmental/animal-related charities, according to the report.

A separate report from Target Analytics reviews fundraising performance by channel. Direct mail was the channel of delivery for 68% of fundraising revenue in 2009, according to Target Analytics’ report on direct marketing fundraising. While the proportion of revenue coming in online has been growing steadily, it accounted for only 9% of fundraising revenue in 2009 while 3% came in through telemarketing.

Most new donors are acquired through the mail, according to the Target Analytics report, with 87% of all new donors acquired via direct mail. While the proportion of donors acquired online is growing rapidly, only 12% of new donors were acquired online in 2009.

For some interesting ideas on how non-profits are effectively using direct mail, check out this article on the Association of Fundraising Professionals Web site, which discusses the growing importance of mail-recruited monthly donors, using direct mail to get close to donors and how direct mail plays well with other channels.

At AlphaGraphics we have designed and implemented several direct mail campaigns. Examples include variable data programs, PURL campaigns and regular direct mail programs. If you are interested in increasing donations to your favorite charity then we need to have a conversation.

Duane Hampton, President of AlphaGraphics

Saving Dollars when the Budget is Tight

During the past several months printing and advertising budgets have fallen dramatically. To help minimize your printing costs, thePrintGuide.Com would like to offer these helpful tips to keep your printing project on budget.
The main objective when printing anything is efficiency. How efficient are you? How efficient is your printer? How can I get the printer to be sympathetic to my needs as a consumer? These are questions you must stop and ask yourself before starting your work or choosing a printer.
• Developing a relationship with your printer is the most important objective. You should feel confident asking your printer about optimizing efficiency. Here are a few tips to help you do so.
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• One color is always going to be least expensive to print. Keep your color designs to a minimum if possible. You’ll not only save money on ink but on the costs of the printing plates as well.
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• Print projects with bleeds typically cost more. Avoid a bleed if possible as this will help keep the amount of material lower (therefore lowering your costs).

At Alphagraphics Mason we have over 40 years of print and marketing experience. You can feel confident that we will combine the right look and feel to meet your budget constraints. Additionally, it is all about ROI at the end of the day. By working with Alphagraphics we will work with you to design a solution that will exceed your expectations. We have the ability to acquire a targeted customer list, graphically design the direct mail, implement the latest PURL campaign methodologies and follow up with your customers after the mailing.