November 2001

Last year, a retired university professor complained to "Dear Abby" about the charitable requests that filled his or her mailbox. "Every year," the frustrated donor wrote,

I send checks to more than 80 charities, and I make it a point to label each donation "annual contribution for the year"—to no avail. Still I continue to receive three to four daily requests and/or "gifts." Besides the inconvenience of all this unasked for and unwanted mail, I'm concerned about the waste of paper and the money that should go to philanthropy and not marketing.

The professor signed the letter "Not a millionaire."

"Abby" (coauthors Pauline and Jeanne Phillips) sympathized, responding:

I could suggest that charities send solicitations only once a year—but the effort would be useless. Many large charities have become automated. The donor lists have become part of a computer information bank, and requests for money are spit out and mailed a minimum of several times a year. One would think the expenditure of paper and postage would be taken into consideration, but they must make so much money that they can afford to waste it. (Charleston Daily Mail, December 28, 2000)

Although we work with nonprofits every day, many of us at GuideStar find ourselves thinking the same things as we sort through the day's mail at home. And Americans' generous response to the September 11 attacks on the United States may heighten donor annoyance at receiving floods of charitable requests as 2001 draws to a close.

For the 2001 giving season, we decided to look more closely at nonprofits' direct-mail practices. We wanted to determine how common is fundraising by mail, what percentage of organizations that use direct mail send multiple solicitations to individual donors, and why charities choose to raise funds in this manner. To get the answers to these questions, we went to the nonprofits that participate in GuideStar.

Almost Everybody Does It

Some 101 individuals associated with nonprofit organizations responded to our request for information. We learned that the vast majority of the nonprofits represented in our survey raise funds through the mail.

Nearly three-quarters of those organizations send more than one contribution request to individual donors and potential donors. More than half send two or three mailings a year, and a significant number send four or five. Relatively few send six or more.

Why Nonprofits Send More Than One Mailing

The survey participants listed several reasons why their organizations send more than one mailing a year (each respondent was able to mention more than one reason):

• We want to make it easy for people to give to us, so we provide them with contribution forms and self-addressed envelopes (42 percent).
• We want donors and potential donors to remember us when they are ready to give (40 percent).
• To educate the public about our mission and activities, even if the people who receive our requests don't give to us (31 percent).
• The mailings more than pay for themselves in contributions received (31 percent).
• To accommodate different fundraising approaches by sending separate mailings for annual campaigns, special events, special programs, etc. (29 percent).
• Our income from gifts drops if we don't (27 percent).
• The more we ask, the more people give (13 percent).
  

One anonymous respondent commented, "Some donors have told us they prefer mail solicitation to phone or other methods." Another explained, "We do a mailing and a follow-up." Stephen A. Martin, executive director of the Carolina Theatre of Durham, noted, "We only send additional requests if [contributors] don't respond within three months to the first request."

Other nonprofits send regularly scheduled mailings. An anonymous survey participant explained that his or her organization mails a second piece for a "major fundraiser in June." According to executive director Steve Shimek, the Otter Project in Marina, California, "try[s] very hard not to send more than one request for new membership per year. Once a person is a 'member,' they will receive two donation requests for specific programs, one request for operating funds, and a renewal request."

Special circumstances can also lead organizations to mail additional contribution requests. Carlene Armstrong, executive director of the Morningstar Foundation for Adults with Autism in Cornville, Arizona, noted, "This year we sent an 'emergency' request. ... It really was an emergency ... and people were very generous."



Many nonprofits use newsletters as fundraising tools. Diane Reese, team leader of the West Virginia Coalition against Domestic Violence, explained, "Our request for supporting membership goes out quarterly as part of our newsletter." According to operations director Gordon Kemper, Casa Sonrisa of Round Rock, Texas, uses its short, bimonthly newsletter in a similar fashion.

From Miami, Florida, Robert M. Silver, secretary-treasurer of the Horse Protection Association of Florida (HPAF), reported, "We use ONLY newsletters for fundraising. We send out 2-3/yr to a list of people who have indicated an interest in our mission—i.e., Equine Rescue. Most important to our success is the fact that EVERY donor receives an individualized 'Thank You.'" HPAF also applies for grants whenever possible.

Conclusion

Overall, the participants' explanations can be summed up in four words: "Sending multiple solicitations works." And in today's nonprofit environment, most organizations cannot afford to overlook anything that succeeds.

Between 1977 and 1997, the number of U.S. nonprofits grew 61 percent, from 739,000 to 1.19 million (Independent Sector, The New Nonprofit Almanac in Brief: Facts and Figures on the Independent Sector, 2001). Many of these organizations are competing for donors' dollars.

Add to this increased competition the uncertainties of a faltering economy and the possibility of a protracted war against terrorism, and it becomes clear that nonprofits face daunting challenges.

If, however, you do not wish to receive mailings from the nonprofits you support, you do have an option. Use your credit card to make an anonymous donation through JustGive.org or Helping.org (be sure to select the option on the donation form that specifies that you wish to remain anonymous to the organization receiving your gift). Your contribution will be fully deductible to the extent allowed by law, and 100 percent of your donation will be sent to the organization you designate.