What DM could learn from DRTV

I was feeling a little under the weather this past weekend, and so I spent some time on the couch watching TV. If you have turned on the television recently on a Saturday or Sunday you know there is an endless number of DRTV programs available to you. Having come from the DRTV world, I was happy to have the opportunity to see what new shows were on the air, and what existing shows were still running (and hopefully indicates are still working). As I watched a few different shows it struck me that there is one thing that DRTV does REALLY well, and that is tell stories.

Every week I receive DM pieces from various non-profits throughout North America, and the vast majority are short letters, telling me how wonderful they are, and usually containing a very organizationally focused ask. Rarely do charities tell me a story about an individual who needs my help...the real reason that I would choose to give to that organization.

I know TV has the benefit of being able to show pretty pictures and really give the viewer a look at that persons life, but the stories they tell can almost always translate onto paper.

When you write your next DM appeal, PLEASE tell a story, because at the end of the day, people give to people. Its not about you - its about the lives you are impacting.

Share your message...with ketchup?

I have to say - I had no idea that a pack of ketchup could be so powerful...

I came across this picture earlier today and couldn't wait to post it. It is an advertising campaign done for CALM - New Zealand Campaign against Landmines and its a medium that I didn't actually know existed.

Love it or hate it, you can't help but notice it. And I would guess after tearing into that ketchup pack it would be hard not to think about while chowing down on your burger and fries. This pack won two awards for Publicis Mojo in Auckland in 2006. Gotta love those kiwi's.

A gift of nothing...

I wanted to say a special thank you to 'Agents of Good', a brilliant group of fundraisers whom I am fortunate enough to work with. This year instead of sending a gift basket or a box of chocolates, they sent the gift of nothing - and by nothing I mean possibly the best gift of all.

Instead of sending client gifts this year, they provided toys for children at a home for disabled children in Uganda. You can find photos and additional information on the Agents of Good blog.

Thank you John, Jen and Mark for your awesome gift, and a reminder of what is really important this holiday season. Have a wonderful Christmas, and I look forward to working with you more in 2010.

Tis the season...for gift catalogues!

I LOVE Gift Catalogues. I think they are a fantastic way of honoring your loved ones while improving the lives of people around the world. The truth is, most people on your gift list probably don't need, or even want, anything for Christmas. According to a poll conducted for World Vision by Ipsos Read in 2007, 8 out of 10 Canadians said they didn't need anything, and eighty-four per cent agreed that they would prefer to receive a meaningful gift that would help someone else, rather than a traditional gift like a pair of socks or a sweater.

For this reason, our mailboxes are being flooded with stacks of catalogues for all kinds of different organizations. You can buy a pig, goat, cow and even an alpaca for your friends; you can pay back that brother that always picked on you with a latrine; or you can honour the teacher in your life by providing school uniforms or school supplies for a child in a developing country. If there is someone in your life who loves the outdoors you can adopt a piece of land or an endangered species. Or you can help out at home, by providing gifts for the homeless or toys for children spending Christmas at the hospital. There are so many special gifts you can give that will really make a difference this Christmas - and I think its brilliant!

As a fundraisers though, we need to ask 'what next'? We know that gift catalogues can acquire new donors with a very high efficiency rate. Realistically though, this group are better classified as catalog buyers than donors. As someone who has purchased from a variety of gift catalogues I am regularly thrown into the direct mail stream but catalogue buyers cannot be cultivated in the same way as your traditional dm donors.

How have you manged to turn catalogue donors into committed donors? Have you found away to get a second gift? Or better yet, have you been successful in converting these donors into monthly givers?

Oh - and one more thing. If your still looking for a gift for the person who has everything - here are the links to three of my favourite gift catalogues...

World Vision Canada

Operation Eyesight

WWF

The day after...

After two and a half days packed with brilliant speakers, inspiring sessions and lots of great opportunities for relationship building, AFP congress has come to an end. Despite the fact I returned to an abundance of messages in my inbox and a 'to-do' list that seems to have no end, I wanted to take a few minutes and reflect on some of the things I took out of the last three days. Here are the 5 most valuable things that I learned at congress:

1. Don't use statistics - they are truly a waste of space. Focus instead on your case for support. This is what will inspire people to give you money and support your cause.

2. STOP evaluating charities based on their admin costs or costs of fundraising. These are efficiency measures, NOT effectiveness measures. Non-profits should be measured based on their impact. And please take the pie charts out of your donor communications because it is only perpetuating the problem.

3. Get to the roots of your story and make it about a beneficiary, NOT your mission statement. Tell stories in all your communications: print, phone, DM, it doesn't matter.

4. They secret to raising more money is to spend more money. You have to be willing to take risks, which will also mean making mistakes. The most successful organizations have made loads of mistakes but by doing so have found things that really work.

5. Stop talking about your charity! Talk about your cause. Spend your time talking about the reason why people support you... I guarantee it has very little to do with you, and a lot to do with the people/animals/environment you serve.

Hats of to Mark and the rest of the team for a remarkable three days. I'm thrilled I was able to be a part of it.

Pareto Fundraising announces four fundraisers who are on their way to AFP’s Toronto Congress

A few weeks ago I wrote about Pareto Fundraising's passion for training and deveopment. We decided to offer four passes to AFP Toronto’s Fundraising Congress to brilliant fundraisers who would otherwise not have been able to attend this year’s event.

We received a large number of applications, and are delighted to award the four full passes (which cover the registration fee for the full three days of Congress) to:

Pam Bastedo, Meal Exchange
Aileen Doyle, JHR (Journalists for Human Rights)
Elaine Scrivener, Mark Preece Family House
Mary Warner, Toronto Renewable Energy Cooperative

Each of these individuals shared with us what they were most excited about learning at Congress and how they would be able to use the knowledge and experience gained to further their organizations fundraising and make the world a better place.

Thank you to all who those who took the time to submit an application. And congratulations again to Pam, Aileen, Elaine and Mary.

We’re really looking forward to a great Congress. See you there.

Homeless Charity in Sweeden gets innovative with their Christmas Appeal

I came across this Christmas appeal on the Epica Awards web site. Its an innovative approach to a Christmas appeal which should break through the holiday clutter that.

During a season when people are more likely to give, charities are much more likely to ask. Donors receive countless DM appeals from charities and are bombarded by asks outside of their mailbox as well.

Gothenburg Homeless Aid relies on generosity at Christmas which is when a substantial portion of their entire year's funding is collected. In order to stand out, they developed their no fixed abode Christmas card appeal. They produced a standard Christmas Card, that at first glance doesn't look to different from what anyone else would send out at Christmas time. Where they got really creative, was with the address.

The charity wanted to draw attention to people with no fixed address in Gothenburg, so they addressed the pack to "Lasse Persson, a doorway/tunnel/stairwell, Hisingen (a part of Gothenburg)”. They then wrote the details of the actual intended recipient on the back of the envelope. When the Swedish post office received the letters they were unable to deliver them to Lasse because he has no real address.

When they couldn't deliver the envelope, they were "returned to sender" and sent "back" to the intended recipient with a post office stamp saying "not known at this address". The yellow label on the envelope not only highlighted the fact that there are people in Gothenburg who have nowhere to live, but made it almost impossible for the recipient to simply throw it away without opening it to see what it’s all about.

The Christmas card was sent to 20,000 people in Gothenburg, and raised approximately 255,000 US dollars, making it their highest performing Christmas appeal to date.

What innovative approaches have you taken to encourage recipients to open your pack?