{title of presentation} Please Mr. Postman: Starting a (direct) mail program 4 Ann Andrusyszyn, Development Officer, Barrie Public Library 4 Rob Lavery CFRE, Resource Development Consultant, Southern Ontario Library Service OLA SuperConference 2006 – Session #1709

{title of presentation} Agenda: 4 How mail fits into an annual fundraising program 4 The pros and cons of direct mail 4 The components of a direct mail package 4 What aspects will influence success 4 How to start a program – Barrie Public Library case study

{title of presentation} An Annual Giving Program The activities that provide a stream of unrestricted donations Objectives of Annual Giving: –Acquire new donors –Renew current donors –Upgrade current donors Methods include: –Mail –Telephone –Events –Personal solicitations

{title of presentation} The Donor Pyramid

{title of presentation} Pros of mail programs 4 A good way to get lots of small donations 4 A good way to begin the donor relationship 4 A good way to convey the library’s message 4 A good way to convey messages of educational value 4 Mail campaigns are very mathematical, easy to determine results 4 Most donors by mail will give as often as they are asked 4 Lists of donors can be very powerful 4 Lots of flexibility in package to reflect culture of the library 4 You can contract out pieces of the process – opportunity costs

{title of presentation} Cons of Mail Programs 4 Competitive 4 Cost-effectiveness is dependent on volume 4 Can be perceived as impersonal 4 Detail dependent 4 Acquisitioning is expensive (unless you’re creative!) 4 Mail campaigns that depend on volunteers can take a long time to turn around

{title of presentation} A good fit for libraries? The following statistics were gathered from a recent survey* of Canadian mail respondents: 4 70% of mail respondents are 65+ years of age 4 women outnumber men 2 to % have post-secondary education 4 59% attend religious service regularly 4 39% could surf from home, only 3% had ever made an online donation 4 35% give to more than 20 charities in a year 4 46% are also volunteers, 80% of which give & volunteer for the same organization * “Taking the Donors’ Pulse”, by Fraser Green, CFRE, Front & Centre, May 2003, published by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy

{title of presentation} Attitudes to Standard Upgrade Strategies: 4 Monthly-giving : –97% indicated this it was unlikely they’d give on a monthly basis 4 Major gifts : –85% are not motivated by special recognition or gift clubs – they will respond to a clearly demonstrated need when they feel a larger contribution will make a substantive difference 4 Bequests : –35% are open to the idea of a bequest, 53% have never been solicited for one

{title of presentation} What Mal says Direct Mail will do for you - 4 Growth – Recruit new donors 4 Involvement – Deepen relationships 4 Visibility – Raise your public profile 4 Efficiency – Increase income 4 Stability – Diversify your funding base

{title of presentation} What determines success? 4 The List – 50% 4 The Offer – 25% 4 The Package – 15% 4 The Art – 5% 4 The Copy – 5%

{title of presentation} Other Influencing Factors for Success 4 Clear, consistent message 4 Database 4 Newsletter 4 Annual schedule 4 Diversified fundraising program

{title of presentation} Components of a Direct Mail Package 4 Outer Envelope 4 Appeal Letter 4 Enclosure or Lift Letter 4 Premium 4 Response Coupon 4 Reply Envelope or Self-Mailer

{title of presentation} Outer Envelope 4 address information – window, label, hand-written 4 return address information 4 address correct request 4 indicia, stamp or metered – bulk rate or first class 4 special message, colour

{title of presentation} Appeal Letter 4 Stationery 4 Length 4 “Air” – white space, easy to read 4 Persuasive wording, urgency 4 Style and tone 4 Typed, printed or computer generated 4 Request for specific amount 4 Underlining, highlighting 4 Signature 4 PS

{title of presentation} Enclosure or Lift Letter 4 Reprinted newspaper article 4 Special appeal 4 Personal note 4 Photo and message

{title of presentation} Premium 4 gift – calendar, address labels, cards 4 promotion – lottery tickets, joke

{title of presentation} Response Coupon 4 Preprinted donor information 4 Gift-amount options/Gift array 4 Gift club, monthly donation options 4 Request for information – mention in wills, organizational information 4 Free-standing or tear-off

{title of presentation} Business Reply Envelope (BRE) or Self-Mailer 4 Preprinted address 4 Postage paid 4 Space for return address 4 Combined response form and envelope

{title of presentation} What aspects will influence success? Personalize the letters as much as possible 4 Hand-written – PS, signature, salutation 4 Live stamp 4 Note card size As few barriers as possible 4 Reply envelope, postage paid 4 Free-standing response coupon Cost-effectiveness 4 Telephone follow up

{title of presentation} Starting a Mail Program Getting a list – standard ways to acquisition from scratch 4 Convert event attendees – sign up lists, business card drops 4 Opt in programs – collecting names and s 4 Past donors – capital campaigns, memorial programs 4 Ad mail 4 Coupon or promotion 4 Insert appeal letter in another mailing 4 Reciprocal exchange 4 Patron database – permission-based

{title of presentation} Starting a Mail Program – Barrie Public Library 4 Why did we opt to do it? 4 How does it fit into our fundraising programme? 4 Starting your list from scratch 4 Using your patron database 4 Board “on board”

{title of presentation} Questions? 4 Ann’s 4 Rob’s