Blogs
So Many Tests, So Little Time…Energy…Money
by Tiffany Neill As direct marketing fundraisers we’re always asking, “is there a better way to do this?” And so we test. Everything. All the time. We test the color of the outer envelope, the teaser on the direct mail package, the subject line of the email, the content of the letter, the color of…
Acknowledgments: Your Gift to a Donor
By Jason Lucas on behalf of Chapman Cubine Adams + Hussey Saying “thank you” is common courtesy. During DMAW’s March 20th Lunch and Learn event, Robin Riggs, Chief Creative Officer at LW Robbins, stressed the importance of conveying sincere gratitude in acknowledgment mailings. In the direct marketing industry, two “R’s” — recruiting and retention —…
Your Mail Piece has a “License Plate” Now! Be careful you don’t get a ticket…
Submitted by Dave Lewis, Vice President, ProList, Inc. When the US Postal Service implemented the new Intelligent Mail barcode in 2006, they introduced enough digits to put a unique number on every piece of mail. This is a wonderful thing if you want to track when your mail gets delivered. The only downside is that…
DM Professionals vs Regulators
Score: 1 Potential Win to 1 Potential Loss Submitted by Geoff Peters, CEO, CDR Fundraising Group First the Win … As reported in the inaugural edition of P&L news – the Florida Legislature with the encouragement of the states’ top charity regulator, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Adam Putnam, introduced “reform” legislation (Senate…
Building a Strong Foundation on DMAW’s Direct Mail 101
By Grace Finn I am new to fundraising. In fact, prior to two months ago I had never solicited funds in my life. Luckily, there were quite a few of us in the audience who were just now entering the world of direct Mail. But I was keen to learn about the art and science…
A Discount Coming Your Way — If You Register For It!
The Post Office is running a very important postage discount program for direct mail companies and nonprofits. The discount gives two cents back on each piece of business reply mail or courtesy reply mail received in April, May, and June but the discount is not automatic and all mailers need to register. Mailers need to…
How charity scandals sell newspapers AND garner votes for politicians?
As often seems to be the case with electoral politics, as a result of a scandal in Florida, there has been much press (which is now national) and proposed legislation that would add to the regulatory burden of charities and fundraisers. In a multimillion-dollar charity scam, employees of Allied Veterans of the World were accused…
2014 DMAW Annual Kick-Off Event: Charity Watchdogs, Donor Perceptions and the Overhead Myth – A Panel Discussion on Thursday, January 30th at the National Press Club in Washington DC
By Elizabeth Salnoske and Amie Sharaf, Client Services Managers, Production Solutions The night began with a State of the Union and Introductions of the 2014 DMAW Board of Directors. Immediate Past President, Mike DeFlavia reiterated that our goal for 2014 is to remain valuable and relevant, while making connections (and hopefully achieving a ROI). The…
It’s MAXI Time Again!
by Jim Chmielewski With the beginning of the New Year upon us, it is “MAXI Time” once again. This is an exciting time of year where direct marketing agencies, non-profit organizations, digital and telemarketing firms, etc. can review the work they did over the past year and reward their most successful efforts by entering them…