Direct response is like the Swiss Army knife of fundraising. It’s well known as an effective mass market fundraising tool, but it’s also highly adaptable and can be used for many other development purposes. In fact, one of its most important “jobs” in philanthropy is identifying and sustaining mid-level and major donor audiences. Here are four best practices to keep in mind to put your direct response program to work for your high value donor acquisition and retention objectives:
1. Turn your mass mailings for general donors into personal letters for high value donors. Adapt your general direct mail appeals with heightened personalization and package specifications to reinforce your high value donors’ special relationship with your organization:
2. Make mid-level giving a priority. Work closely with your major giving department to collaborate on a robust mid-level fundraising and cultivation plan including an annual invitation, renewal and upgrade campaigns, regular appeals and cultivation communications, and special events. Keep in mind that mid-level giving clubs can take many shapes and forms. Giving levels, benefits, expiration and renewal practices, installment options, and branding can vary widely, and that’s fine! The only thing that needs to be universal among organizations is having a mid-level giving program.
3. Find hidden candidates for your mid-level giving club and major donor prospect identification by supplementing recency-frequency-monetary modeling with external high value prospect modeling:
4. Infuse monthly giving in all aspects of your program. After all, monthly donors are your stealth high value donors whose modest monthly gifts add up significantly through sheer reliability and longevity. Embed monthly giving in your membership/donation offer, test ways to prioritize it on the donation form on your website, put it on your home page and/or explore tactics to boost home page performance, test placement and prominence of monthly giving offers in email and in direct mail, and continually seek ways to ingrain monthly giving in all aspects of giving and participation in your organization.