Direct Mail vs. Online Acquisition
The recent Bridge Conference in Washington focused attention on the need for nonprofit fundraisers to integrate their direct mail and online channels.
Here's a good summary of key points from Karen Taggart at Care2, as published by FundRaising Success Advisor.
As we see it, for virtually all nonprofits, direct mail is still the acquisition king. These days, emergency relief is probably the only category where online can trump mail for soliciting new gifts. Obviously “speed to market” + “no need to explain” are the keys there.
And while online revenues from existing donors are steeply climbing, there's still not a lot of data being shared regarding the extent of cannibalization. For nonprofits who are successfully moving donors online, is their total revenue pie growing, or is online revenue growing at the expense of direct mail income?
As we've pointed out before, even if channel migration is occurring, the result should at least be more net income, given the lower costs of online solicitation and gift processing.
Roger & Tom
Behavioral Science Q & A
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