Steve Thomas | July 20, 2009
If you want to improve your net income through direct mail begin by not treating all donors equally. Equality is a fabulous ideal in most of life, but it’s a terrible concept in fundraising (apologies Mr. Lincoln). When we’re brought in to assess direct mail fundraising, one of the classic mistakes we see organizations (and [...]
Steve Thomas | July 6, 2009
Today, I’m interrupting our flow of blog posts on Facebook as an important social media platform for nonprofits and ministries to point you to an important concept and new book. Chris Anderson, Wired’s Editor in Chief, has a new book titled: Free: The Future of a Radical Price. You can also read him on Wired’s [...]
Steve Thomas | June 5, 2009
There are only two questions left in our series of questions you must ask your agency. These are questions you must ask your agency or consultant and be happy with the answers. Question #7 is: “Are you creating solutions to solve my specific problems or are you selling me generic solutions?”
Your world is far too [...]
Steve Thomas | May 12, 2009
Direct mail…it’s wanted dead and alive! So here are two secrets about direct mail fundraising and six things for you to do about it.
1. Direct Mail is dead. I’ve said it before and I’m going to say it again. Dead. Yesterday postage rates increased 2 cents to 44 cents for 1st Class postage. My quick [...]
Kris Hoots | April 23, 2009
White mail. Is it the proverbial elephant in your fundraising room? Is it something that is so big everyone in your ministry can see it but no one knows what to do about it? You cannot afford to ignore this elephant. So don’t.
Our definition: White mail is passive income from unknown sources.
Why is [...]
Steve Thomas | March 26, 2009
We’ve had some fascinating discussions recently with clients and prospective clients. Because of some of those conversations, we’re starting a new series of posts:
The Top 10 Questions You Must Ask Your Agency (or Consultant)!
If you use a consultant or an agency to help with your fundraising or marketing you have to ask these 10 [...]
Steve Thomas | February 22, 2009
This week we’re talking about 5 steps for producing direct mail fundraising that work! And by “work,” I mean that it brings consistent net income for your ministry or non-profit.
Gone are the days when it was easy to raise money in the mail. In spite of my pronouncements that mail is dead (maybe “on life-support” [...]
