Sanky Blog

It wouldn’t be the holidays without the annual DMFA Holiday Luncheon. But what set this year’s event apart was that guests were given an unusual gift… industry experts Harry Lynch of SankyNet and Vivianne Potter of Amnesty International USA shared 12 ideas to boost your bottom line by December 31st. This informative 30 minute session was filled with key online fundraising and direct mail tips!

Knowing that times are still difficult for many organizations, DMFA board members decided to turn their holiday party into a fun, festive educational experience. Participants were treated to not only great food and company but also valuable lessons in last minute fundraising ideas including:

During the presentation, Harry and Vivianne discussed these and many other techniques that can be used to make a difference in an organization’s online and direct mail fundraising programs.

It was a perfect way to celebrate the season of sharing!

KaBOOM! – an organization whose mission is to save play for America’s children – recently presented SankyNet and SankyDirect with an exciting challenge: develop a fully integrated grassroots individual giving program to help augment their already robust corporate partnership program.

Together, SankyNet and SankyDirect will integrate online, email, direct mail, and social networking components to fully engage KaBOOM!’s donors and supporters.

SankyNet will start this process by developing an inaugural online fundraising and communications program for KaBOOM!. This program includes both a monthly e-newsletter and a series of fundraising email appeals. To make sure these online tools are used most effectively, SankyNet will use a twofold strategy. We will both append email addresses from the KaBOOM! offline database, and also acquire additional email addresses through various marketing and social networking campaigns.

SankyNet wants for KaBOOM! to make the greatest possible impact on potential donors, so we will also revise both the homepage and donation pages of their website. Through reorganizing, redesigning, and expanding these elements, SankyNet will use its online expertise to fully optimize the KaBOOM! website into a powerful fundraising tool.

SankyDirect also has exciting plans to enhance KaBOOM!’s messaging. In the coming year, SankyDirect will design a new direct mail renewal program to help KaBOOM! improve their communication with current and past donors.

While developing these exciting new programs, SankyDirect will work with SankyNet to perform extensive message testing on all online and offline communications. Through testing what message yields the best response, our goal is to help KaBOOM! find the optimum voice to communicate with their donors volunteers, and sponsors.

SankyNet and SankyDirect are proud to embark on this joint venture with KaBOOM!. KaBOOM! works across the country with the mission of providing a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. We are excited to help KaBOOM! make America a safer place to play!

Learn more about KaBOOM! at www.kaboom.org.

This fall, SankyDirect will begin working with Delta Society, a dynamic organization who passionately believes that people are healthier and happier because companion, service and therapy animals enrich and positively impact their everyday lives.

Utilizing 32 years of direct mail experience, SankyDirect will produce a series of fall renewals to encourage continued support of Delta Society. Additionally, SankyDirect will implement an acquisition element to this fundraising campaign. This strategic method of obtaining lists of potential new donors holds the promise of dramatically increasing Delta Society’s income for years to come.

After completing this fall campaign, SankyDirect and Delta Society will continue to partner in the coming year to produce a full direct mail program. Both organizations are excited about the potential this new relationship holds!

Together with a committed team of volunteers, Delta Society brings a variety of service and therapy animals into hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and schools. By encouraging positive interactions between animals and people, they advance human health and well-being in the people they serve – the elderly, the disabled, schoolchildren, and hospital patients. Learn more about Delta Society at www.deltasociety.org.

SankyDirect looks forward to working with Delta Society, helping them develop a DirectMail program that is as dynamic as their mission.

With the potential to reach a wide audience rapidly and cost-effectively, more and more nonprofit organizations are using online communications tools to connect with donors, members, volunteers and supporters.

At the Center for Nonprofit Success’ New York Fundraising Summit earlier this month, I discussed the topic of online fundraising, and how to harness technology to build and maintain productive donor relationships.

An online fundraising program consists of much more than a “Donate Now” button on your Web site. An organization needs to be proactive in communications with donors and potential donors both online and offline. The most successful nonprofits maintain an integrated approach for fundraising. But with so many channels, trying to find the right balance is difficult.

Before an organization jumps on any new media bandwagon, it needs to focus first on some tried-and-true fundamentals — making sure it has a solid Web site and compelling e-mail program, and cultivating a strategy for acquiring new donors. After all those ducks are in a row, then it can begin to think about integrating with social media.

Here are key components to an effective integrated online fundraising strategy:

1. Online fundraising fundamentals

With the advent of Facebook and Twitter, and other channels emerging all the time, integration can be a daunting task for many nonprofit organizations that are already understaffed.

Yet nonprofit organizations need to stop, take a breath and look at the fundamentals. Before you start moving donors between channels, you need to test your Web site for usability. It is so important to have intuitive Web site navigation architecture. People online have very little patience and will quickly click the “back” button if they can’t find what they want. You have seconds to engage visitors before you lose them.

Make sure your donation forms are always one click away, and always reassure donors about the security of the form. Donors are getting savvier about security settings on donation pages. They look for security certificates (e.g., VeriSign), https vs. http and the lock icon. Some of those offline donors are still not comfortable donating online, so providing the option of a printable giving form alleviates those concerns. And don’t forget to include a source code on the form for your data entry team.

A key difference between online and offline channels is the approach to fundraising vs. cultivation. Many organizations send out eight to 12 offline donor appeals a year. Online, you need to make sure you balance your e-mail communications with donors. Everything does not and should not have an ask. Online communication allows organizations to create stewardship pieces, updating donors on how their gifts are making a difference. Don’t forget that in e-mail fundraising, “opt-outs” are forever!

2. Renewing your donors

It is important to remember there are key differences between donors who give through different channels. Online fundraising cannot live in a box by itself; organizations need to synchronize media, coordinate consistent messaging and tailor content to each appropriate medium. Recent studies show that if you have an e-mail address on file for a donor, it makes a positive difference in his or her giving.

Online giving is certainly tilted toward year-end giving with two-thirds of income raised in the final months and days of the year. The ability to create a sense of urgency lends itself to the immediacy of the online environment. Many organizations have found great success with online “matching gift” campaigns, which allow an organization to create an artificial deadline. The best results come when you synchronize your campaign with offline fundraising efforts (e.g., direct mail, telemarketing).

The ability to be nimble is a key component of an effective integrated strategy. Timing is everything when it comes to integrated fundraising. You can start a campaign on your Web site, send an e-mail about an urgent news item (e.g., natural disaster, food shortage) and follow up the campaign with a direct-mail piece. You can test messaging online with immediate results, and then roll out the winning results through other channels. Don’t forget about your homepage when you launch a new campaign. Many studies show offline donors check out your Web site before making a gift.

3. E-mail acquisition: Science and art

Now that we all know having an e-mail address for a donor makes a positive impact on his or her giving, how do we acquire more e-mail addresses? Every organization needs to start with its Web site. Make sure you have a prominent, eye-catching “callout” on every page. If you have the ability to segment based on interest or frequency, this will increase your conversion rate. Make sure you keep and send what you promised at the collection point.

A quick way to jump-start an e-mail program is doing an e-mail append. An append uses a third-party commercial vendor to find an e-mail address from a donor’s “land” address. Be aware that these donors aren’t as responsive as other online donors, but the cost is minimal — fast-tracking your integration goals.

There still is the slow and steady way of collecting e-mail addresses using offline methods (e.g., direct mail, telemarketing). The good news here is when a donor gives you his or her e-mail address, it’s usually for the primary account.

Finally, think about using search engine marketing to invite people to join your e-mail program or become donors. These are the pay-per-click text ads running on Google and Yahoo. Many organizations have found that these ads perform similarly to a direct-mail acquisition. There is an up-front investment, but the long-term value of the donor is looking very optimistic.

4. What about social networks and microblogging?

After you put together a cohesive integrated strategy and master fundraising schedule — and if you still have time and resources left over — find ways to push your message and brand out to these channels. Coordinate your campaigns and find appropriate times to engage these new and old constituents. If you haven’t already, create a Facebook page, and maybe have a volunteer help manage it. See if you can find a program staff person to post on Twitter (tweet) from the front lines. But at the end of the day, don’t forget who’s writing the checks and donating online. Social media is just the icing on the cake.

Paul Habig is Executive Vice President of SankyNet, an integrated fundraising and communications firm.

This article was originally published in FundRaising Success Magazine.

We want to thank Chuck Pruitt for his excellent response, “Chuck Pruitt Is Mad!” on The Agitator to the tolling of the “direct mail is dead” bell – an old, old story indeed.

We too see that while direct mail continues to be the primary giving vehicle for most current donors, there is huge value in multi-channel givers, and that the rise in online giving, although it may not be as much as some people expected, is nonetheless exhilarating.

As we all know, recent studies show that if you have an email address on file for an offline donor it makes a positive difference in their giving. Reinforcing the need to synchronize channels, coordinate consistent messaging, and tailor content to each appropriate medium. Online fundraising doesn’t replace direct mail but reinforces the repetition of the message.

Our concerns about direct mail fundraising are less about any immediate generational behavior change than about technical problems, such as the financial health of the postal service, increases in list and printing costs, and continued media attention on the rare fundraiser abuses rather than the truly amazing work that most nonprofits accomplish, even in the midst of recession.

By: Judy Maneval, Harry Lynch, Paul Habig of Sanky Communications

It is always important to adequately and appropriately thank donors for their contributions. And in these days of economic malaise, it could not be more vital. This is the time to cement relationships for the better days ahead.

Since there are an unlimited number of good acknowledgment ideas, this will be the first in an occasional series of suggestions on the topic of thanking contributors. This month features offline ideas (i.e. direct mail fundraising) – the next in the series will highlight online techniques.

By: Judy Maneval, President of Sanky Communications

It is both interesting and counter-intuitive, but many donors give through the direct mail fundraising because they are attracted by the anonymity it promises. So when those originally-direct mail donors up their giving level and move into mid-range or bridge donor status, you may try to call or visit them. But you should not be surprised when they are not receptive. They may very well be reluctant to give up their arm’s length relationship with your organization.

So what do you do? You mail them special packages: personalized “invitation” appeals; “proposal” mailings; handwritten notes or cards; you try to establish an email relationship or move them online, preferably to a designated area just for them.

Of course you won’t forget to thank them lavishly and send stewardship pieces to keep them informed about what their gifts are accomplishing.

SCI has found that such direct mail fundraising techniques can upgrade the giving of these donors without challenging their anonymity.

Whether last year ended better than expected or as badly as you feared, the question in 2009 is – what next? What can your organization do to ride out the storm? How can you accomplish even more – most likely with fewer resources at your disposal?

Many nonprofits are focusing – more than ever – on leveraging value from their current constituents. Savvy fundraisers know that re-tooling their monthly giving programs is one way to keep costs low while achieving exponential upgrades.

While monthly sustainer programs have long been a part of our “fundraising toolkit” the expense of monthly reminder mailings, and the costly follow-up process required for success, has limited the value of monthly programs for many nonprofits – at least until recently. But the advent of automatic online transaction tools has dramatically changed the landscape.

These days, getting started is the easy part – deceptively so in fact. Most online donation processors now offer the capacity for recurring gifts. If you don’t already have the capability, it’s likely that you can easily add that component to your current online donation processing module. But having the basic functionality is a very different thing than building a program and promoting it – effectively – in multiple mediums.

The first step is to create a special “landing page” that explains, in simple language, how the program works and what the advantages are. Be sure to make it very clear how one can opt out at any time. (Very few of your donors will!) Then develop prominent – and enticing – links and pathways throughout your website to the monthly giving signup page. Frequently mention monthly-giving opportunities in your email appeals and e-newsletters. At least once a year, consider a special targeted email campaign that specifically promotes the program and invites your donors and prospects to join.

Everywhere and anywhere, point out the advantages of giving this way – how small gifts quickly add up …the ease and security of donating this way …and of course the benefits the regular income stream provide to your organization and its critical programs.

Monthly giving programs also are a vivid example of potential synchronicity between your online and offline marketing efforts. You can bolster your success online by promoting the program in your printed newsletters, developing inserts for your direct mail packages, and even testing targeted direct mail that sends offline donors online to sign up to be monthly sustainers. Last but not least, your acknowledgements and welcome packages – offline as well as online – will most likely prove to be a wonderful point of opportunity for promotion.

A handful of very large charities have proven that TV campaigns and large scale telemarketing efforts are highly effective ways to build monthly sustainer programs. But if you don’t have those resources, don’t worry. Even with a tight budget, you can find many other creative ways to promote your own sustainer program – from handing out flyers at your events … to having staff or volunteers call or email monthly donors and prospects when they are about to lapse.

The biggest mistake you can make? To get discouraged in the early months of promoting the program, as the results first arrive in a slow trickle. So many charities do, and give up much too quickly. But so many others have stuck with it and seen the magic in the math … when two become four … eight morphs into sixteen … then dozens transform into hundreds. For these organizations, persistence pays off with significant upgrades and high value donors, who renew at rates of 90+% for virtually no cost.

What more can we ask for in times like these?

By Harry Lynch, CEO of Sanky Communications

By Judy Maneval, President of Sanky Communications

As you’re preparing to print your direct mail fundraising letter, are you thinking only about the copy or about the format and look of the piece too? Many mailers don’t take into account the audience when they are setting up letters.

For most organizations, the donors are on the older side. Be sure they can actually read your great copy by using large type (never smaller than 12.5 point when using Times New Roman).

In addition, most older folks grew up at a time when letters had a very standard look – and that’s what they find comfortable. That means using serif type, indenting at the start of a paragraph, and following traditional English usage.

If you can afford to test these old rules for your organization, great. But if you can’t – play it safe.

P.S. And don’t forget to make it easy to read by using short paragraphs!

By Harry Lynch
Published on AFP site on July 21st, 2008

It’s been a while since a nonprofit executive asked me that question, but it still makes me smile. And groan a little too.

The myths and confusion engulfing email only seem to proliferate with each passing year. So here we are in 2008. A cool $10 billion or so is now being raised annually online. But what is the truth about email?

Is it the best way to reach a mass audience of potential online donors? Or is the highly publicized plunge in open rates just the latest sign of overuse and dwindling effectiveness? Are social networking and other new tools overtaking it as the top online fundraising medium? Or is email really the best way to engage donors – especially the younger ones – yearned for by so many nonprofit executives?

The bottom line is that email has emerged as a mature, predictable, and cost-effective fundraising medium – raising exponentially more money online (with far fewer resources) than social networking, search engine marketing, or any other vehicle than the all-important website itself.

But even in 2008, confusion about the medium and best practices still reign – and limit the success of far too many non-profits. So what are some of the most common myths? How can they be countered?

Myth #1: Declining open rates are a sign of “email fatigue.”

The truth is that “open-rates” just aren’t that meaningful anymore. Most recipient email programs now employ “image blockers” that skew open rates and give false negative readings. And aggregate statistics often cited in surveys are skewed because so many nonprofits now “append” email addresses from their land lists – and these are opened at lower rates, dramatically suppressing the overall average.

Emailers who segment their lists and tracks results according to donors, prospects, and append groups not only find that donor and prospect open rates are holding up, but they can better tailor their strategies and messages to improve overall results.

Myth #2: You can never send too much email.

With email just so darn cheap, the tendency for many nonprofits is just to blast away. What’s the harm, after all? The “harm” is that the recipient audiences will start to tune out your messages; click-through rates will fall rapidly, and opt-outs surge.

Online fundraisers can excel by taking the time to craft a thoughtful email segmentation plan and schedule. Friends who sign up to be “online advocates” might not mind getting one or two or even three “action alert” emails every week. But donors who ask for a monthly enewsletter will be turned off if their inbox starts to get cluttered with e-missives every other day. One final word: Opt-outs are easy – just the click of a button – and forever! It’s not like having your direct mail solicitation thrown away … so you can send another one the next month. When it comes to email, an opt-out is forever – there are no second chances!

Myth #3: Ask and ye shall receive.

The golden rule for offline fundraising is terribly tarnished advice when it comes to email. Online donors and prospects want information and a relationship before they’re even asked for money – let alone would consider giving. If you ask too soon, or too often, your list will stop opening your emails – or opt-out altogether.

Some marketing experts recommend a firm 80/20 rule – four informational emails for every one that is “ask” focused. While some experts suggest that a simple link to your donation page in non-fundraising e-newsletters and alerts doesn’t have any negative impact , others recommend avoiding any hint of fundraising until the email cycle reaches an appropriate point for the ask. Everyone agrees: asking for money too soon and/or too often on the Internet has serious, immediate, and irreversible consequences.

Myth #4: There’s no such thing as email acquisition.

True … but false too. Unlike traditional direct mail, where thousands of lists are available for rental at any given moment, few legitimate email lists available for rental seem to hold much promise for fundraising … and the ones we’ve tested yield negligible results.

That said, email acquisition is a vital – but too often overlooked – part of any online program. It involves a very distinct two-step process that first includes building your organization’s own email prospect list. Assuming you can offer a compelling e-newsletter, action alert, or other valuable information, you can methodically use your website … append technology … and even search engine marketing to promote email opt-ins – and then very carefully cultivate these new friends to give.

Myth #5: Timing is everything.

Many fundraisers now know that the obsession with precisely timing the day and even hour to send email solicitations is a bit overdone. The “best” moment to send an email tends to be a moving target depending on a whole host of factors and variables.

Rather than obsess about the advantages of, say, Tuesday morning vs. Thursday afternoon email deliveries, online marketers can more productively expend energy ensuring they are ready to leverage the tremendous opportunities that emerge because of the speed and precision of the medium. We all know that email offers one of the most effective ways to capture donations after a natural disaster or media event – but this is only possible when the systems and people are in place who can respond when there is such an opportunity. And many charities are learning that email is a way to get a “year end giving reminder” into the hands of your donors on, say, exactly the morning of December 30.

Myth #6: Email is the best way to reach a young audience.

These days you’re more likely to reach grandma than grandson via email. Study after study confirms that email is increasingly a medium of choice for people over 50 … and even over 65!

If you’re looking to motivate and tap the enthusiasm of our youngest citizens – say those under 25 – a text message or MySpace page will likely serve you better. If you’re looking for a donation from the audience with most of the money and inclination to give, traditional direct mail and email – if not a complicated combination of the two – are the way to go.

Reports of the death of email, as a useful fundraising tool, have been greatly exaggerated. But the sooner we recognize that email is truly a unique medium with its own set of rules and best practices, the sooner we can all put its power to better use – and raise more money for the causes we cherish.