By Alan Sharpe, CFRE
What does an ideal new direct mail donor look like? How can you spot one in a crowd? Or in a list of potential donors? Look for the 3 Cs.
Capacity
The most important measure is a potential donor’s capacity to give. Some development officers trip here, concentrating their energy on wealthy donors. But in direct mail fundraising, the majority of gifts are small. Donors don’t have to be wealthy, just willing. That’s the beauty of appealing for funds through the mail.
So look for people who are able to give the size of gift you want. Some apparently wealthy people have zero disposable income. And some apparently poor people (and some actually poor people) have disposable income. So the first criteria to look for is not how much money a potential donor has, but whether the person is able to give away what they have, preferably to you, of course.
Connection
The second criteria to look for in potential donors is their level of connection with your organization. Every potential donor fits in here somewhere on a scale of 1 to 10. At the high end you have the nice folks who sit on your board of directors. They are 10s. At the other end of the scale you have the strangers who know nothing about who you are or what you do or who you help or where you operate. They are 1s. In the middle you have clients (the people you serve), volunteers and vendors.
Commitment
Finally, you measure all potential supporters by their level of commitment to your cause. You can measure commitment by the amount of money that potential donors give to similar organizations. Or the length of time they have supported similar initiatives. Or the frequency of their donations (assuming you can discover such things). Or their level or length of volunteer service.
An ideal new direct mail donor will be able to give, have a strong connection with your organization, and feel committed to supporting you. Some potential donors have the capacity to give but don’t know you. Others know you but are not committed. Whenever you can find people who meet all three criteria, you will be blessed. And so will they.
You might be interested in…
 Handbook Number 7 18 Places to Find New Donors Using Fundraising Letters. The professional fundraiser’s guide to creative and cost-effective donor acquisition. |
 101 Irresistible Direct Mail Fundraising Envelopes. Borrow inspiration from the ingenuity and daring of more than 70 non-profit organizations. This is an electronic book delivered by mail on a CD-ROM in Adobe Acrobat format. |
| Seminar-on Demand 005 Breakthrough Fundraising Letters. In this 90-minute on-demand seminar, direct mail fundraising copywriter, consultant and coach, Alan Sharpe, shares many of the secret techniques revealed in his latest book, Breakthrough Fundraising Letters. Alan shows you proven ways to inspire your donors using paper and postage. You’ll learn tips, techniques and shortcuts that you can use right now. |
