Nonprofit Fundraising

Aside from this being the time of year that I daydream about the pie bar that my mom and aunt meticulously plan each year, it’s the time of the year that I begin to reflect on the past year. Measuring myself against the goals I set out to accomplish, taking stock of the current state of affairs nationally and globally, and trying to make sense of the man-made and natural changes that have transpired.

Sorry folks, I’m just going to come out and say it. Nonprofit organizations do not practice true personalization. While many nonprofit organizations profess that they are providing experiences and communications that are “uniquely relevant” to existing and potential donors, the truth is — they’re not quite there yet.

Switching gears a bit this month, I want to take time to reflect on some current events. I also want to remind us all that what we do matters, and that innovation and out-of-the-box thinking must continue in order to propel our industry forward and enable the missions and work of the organizations we support.

Finally, organizations are using technology to complement and strengthen their fundraising program. But is this really the case? I’m not sure. In one conversation, I heard about how excited an organization was that it could marry its online and offline sustainer programs.

Whether or not you have money to burn, no one likes to waste money. And anyway, the government frowns upon burning their paper. So why are so many nonprofits squandering their resources on mailings to bad addresses?

Sustainer. It’s the buzz word in nonprofit fundraising for the past few years. And there’s good reason for it — sustainer programs are one of the most valuable segments within a fundraising program because of the compound effect of the gifts.

Here, we highlight a couple of our clients’ specialized acknowledgment fulfillment programs and how Merkle RMG is supporting them.

With the 2016 presidential election campaign in full swing, many Americans are now more focused on the issues that mean the most to them. Naturally, election years bring surges in donations for political candidates and causes. So if you’re a non-political organization, how should that affect your fundraising this year?

The Direct Marketing Association Nonprofit Federation held its latest semi-annual conference in Washington, D.C. February 18 and 19 at the Renaissance Hotel (the other is held in New York City in the summer). More than 700 fundraisers and representatives from the companies that serve them gathered for the two-day event that featured a keynote speaker each day, a jam-packed schedule of education sessions, and lots of networking as usual morning, noon and night.

Recently a prospective client made a second visit to our facility in Hagerstown, Maryland, to do a deeper dive into our capabilities and how we’d handle the nonprofit organization’s direct mail responses.  As part of that process we asked the Director of Development to bring samples of their primary direct mail packages to review.