“One in three donors (37 percent) who give online say that when they receive a direct mail appeal from a charity they use the charity’s website to give their donation,” according to a national Dunham+Company study recently conducted by research firm Campbell Rinker.
And no surprise, the study found the younger the donor, the more likely they are to use a charity’s website to respond to a direct mail appeal.
So what is your organization doing to engage, educate, inspire, and cause your supporters to head to your website and make a contribution this fall?
Seven tips to make sure your direct appeal drives online giving. Make sure:
1. Your online giving page is easy to find.
2. Your online contribution page requires the minimum data entry by the donor.
3. Your appeal letter makes a compelling case to make a gift TODAY and put the contribution to work immediately by making the contribution on-line.
4. Supporters know why a contribution is needed.
5. You have created a sense of urgency to give TODAY.
6. You share a story about someone whose life will be different because of a contribution.
7. You share examples of a specific gift amount will do and make sure that gift level is easy to find on your website. i.e .$20 a day will provide supportive services for a homeless youth to find a job and a permanent place to live.
One final tip to increase overall giving all year-long: Allow prospective donors to make a monthly gift.
Click here to read the full post on direct mail driving on-line giving on the Association of Fundraising Professionals website. Click here for additional information on the study (PDF) from Campbell Rinker.
Lori, Thank you so much for sharing this information! I know that I’m a direct mail guy at heart, but I truly support multi-channel marketing, and encourage all of my clients to embrace a multi-channel approach as well. It’s great to see some data that supports the importance of having both an online and an off-line presence. I think too many people abandon one for the other, when in fact it’s critical to have interaction across different channels. Of course the goal of offering different response vehicles is to always make it as easy as possible for people to support your nonprofit organization.
please Lori,we would like to be part of your trainings but we cannot afford because we don’t have that money.
How can we be helped?
your content is very unique and neat also useful
DM Gaithersburg, Thanks for the read & compliment!