Just  imagine the panic among some of our colleagues if that dockworkers’ strike hadn’t been put on hold last Friday.

Hundreds of fundraisers and dozens of production houses would be panicking—maybe worse—facing the grim reality of millions and millions of tote bags, address labels, calendars, and seasick stuffed bears bobbing offshore, unable to land.

No cheerful mailers stuffed with tchotchkes to make their way into homes just in time for the holiday and year-end giving bonanza. Disaster averted by the skin of their toy teeth.

Stuffed Bears, Calendars and Labels Aren’t Saving Us

If you look at the 2023 mailing statistics, you can see why the panic would have been intense. A full 60% of all mail volume relied on premiums—labels, notepads, calendars, tote bags, stuffed animals and other trinkets—to provide that extra nudge to push the donor over the line. Another 28% used matching gift offers and faux membership cards or some equally shiny distraction. And only 12%—yes, just 12%—dared to trigger something deeper, to tap into the identities and value systems of their prospects.

But here’s the thing: just because the premium junkies got their fix  in the nick of time this year doesn’t mean they’re home free. Not by a long shot. Even with their totes, trinkets, and bears safely ashore, the damage is already being done. The number of active donors is down 11% in 2023, and over the past fiver years, a staggering 25%. That’s not just a trend—it’s a reckoning. “The wages of sin…”, as they say.

Back in the late 1960s, John Prine penned a song that, with biting humor, took aim at the way many Americans showed their patriotism by plastering flag decals on their cars and in their windows. The chorus made his point clear: “Your flag decal won’t get you into heaven anymore.”  His message? Slapping a symbol of loyalty on your car doesn’t absolve you of responsibility for the real issues of the day, particularly the consequences of war.

Performative or Real?

Today, charities face a similar dilemma when it comes to premiums like tote bags, address labels, and plush toy animals. Just as the flag decals of the Vietnam War era let people feel good without getting involved, modern fundraising premiums can encourage a transactional, surface-level engagement with causes. Sure, getting a tote bag with a donation feels nice, boosts response rates, profit the producers, but risks reducing the act of giving to something far more consumer-driven and transactional than true commitment.

The address labels may make a supporter feel included, but they don’t replace the commitment to deeper involvement  and deeper commitment that social change demands. And the plush toys, no matter how cute, are not substitutes for understanding the real impact a donation could have on someone’s life.

Like Prine’s critique of performative patriotism, we need to ask ourselves if we’re allowing these trinkets to blind us from the bigger picture. Are donors being nudged toward feeling like they’ve “done enough” with a premium, when in reality, the world’s most pressing challenges need more sustained commitment, activism, and advocacy?

At the end of the day, your tote bag won’t get you into heaven any more than a flag decal will. We can do better by remembering that true change happens when we engage our donors more deeply, not when we settle for the temporary highs better acquisition response rates, but lower retention and lifetime value rates.

Let’s rethink how we engage with donors and remind them—and ourselves—that philanthropy is not a transaction but an ongoing journey toward a better world.

Real Giving vs. Illusion of Giving

John Prine wrote about this kind of thing over 56 years ago as the Vietnam War turned really nasty. He saw it in the flag decals – distributed by the millions by Readers Digest, banks, car dealers, you name it — people slapped  them on their cars and in their front windows. I guess they thought  could buy their way into some patriotic heaven—or at least distinguish themselves from the anti-war protestors.  It didn’t work then, and it’s not working now.

Now it’s not flags. It’s tote bags and stuffed animals. Charities send them out like they’re doing you a favor. You give a few bucks, and they give you something to hold. A bag with a logo, a bear with a bow, some address labels to add to the pile of others you’ll never use. And you feel like you’ve done your part. You can look at all that stuff and think, I helped.

But it’s not real help. The bag doesn’t feed anyone. The stuffed animal doesn’t fix what’s broken. It’s just a thing, something to make donors feel good for a minute. And that’s the problem. It’s easy. Too easy. Like those flag decals, it’s a way to avoid the hard stuff. The real giving. The kind that means something.

So, the next time you’re tempted to offer a bag or a bear or a sheet of labels, think about what you’re really paying for. And if it feels too easy, it probably is—unless you have the time, patience and skill to take those premium donors the next steps toward more engagement and greater commitment. Few do.

My guess is that Heaven doesn’t offer tote bags. Neither should you.

Roger

P.S.  Our friends at Moore recently held webinar [ What Worked in 2023 and What’s Next ] that explores a range of issues– including the use of premiums—that covers giving trends, offers informative stats on giving and offers advice on tackling the year ahead.