By Alan Sharpe, CFREFundraising consultant and researcher Penelope Burk of Cygnus Applied Research says direct mail is declining in popularity. She is wrong.
In her firm’s latest report, The Cygnus Donor Survey: Where Philanthropy is Headed in 2011, Burk says there is “a continuing decline in donors’ desire to transact their gifts through the mail; 26% of those who gave through the mail last year said they plan to give less this way in 2011 (less often, less money or both).
The problem with Burk’s survey is that it reports on what donors say they will do, not on what they actually do. Burk partnered with 40 not-for-profit organizations for her research. But she didn’t ask them if their direct mail programs are growing or shrinking. Instead, she surveyed 22,000 donors from these organizations, and asked these donors what they think of direct mail.
And there’s the problem.
Donors will tell you they receive too much mail. But respond anyway. Donors will tell you they hate receiving fundraising telephone calls during supper. But give over the phone anyway. Donors will tell you they prefer to hear from you by email. But then won’t read your email appeals.
What donors say they will do and what they actually do are often two different things.
I had a neighbor like that. Maurice said he’d never attend an estate sale organized by the local auctioneer because the auctioneer was “as crooked as a snake.” But wouldn’t you know, at the estate sale of a widow neighbor of ours, who was up at the front of the auction, bidding on all the items he wanted? Maurice.
If you want to discover where philanthropy is heading, don’t ask donors what they desire to do next year. Ask charities what they are doing next year.
That’s what the Association of Fundraising Professionals did in the Fall of 2011 with an online poll of its members. Their Quick Poll mirrors what my firm sees happening in the sector, namely, that the majority of charities (61% of poll respondents) are neither abandoning nor decreasing their use of direct mail. A whopping 35% of poll respondents are increasing their use of direct mail.
Direct mail still rules the day in fundraising. Direct-mail giving still brings in the majority of fundraising revenue. The vast majority of charities raise less than 10% of their annual income online.
If you want to discover if direct mail is declining, look at your numbers. They are never mistaken. But donors sometimes are. And so are the researchers who report on those donors’ desires and supposed preferences.
Thanks for the post Alan,
I tremendously respect Penelope’s work…it has brought fundraising back to focusing on donors as people rather than statistics. Since I haven’t seen the research report you are referencing, I question if the response you are referencing is not an indication of whether folks like recieving appeal letters in mail, but rather how they wish to complete the transaction. It is two very different conclusions between recieving a request in the form of a letter vs preference for the process of completing (transacting) a gift. Personally, for irregular and fluctuating bills, I would rather recieve a hard copy in the mail so I have a reminder to go in the “bill pile”, but I get irritated if there is no option to pay online requiring me to write a check. Depending on how that question was asked, I would have likely responded that I “plan to give less this way…”
WE MUST GET the request in front of the donor and direct mail is still the best method beyond meeting face to face.
Robert Croft, CFRE
AMEN – I believe you are 100% correct.
I read an article last year (which I wish I could cite but can’t find) which indicates that even campaign feasibility studies have this flaw. When asking donors what they will do – donors answer what they “think” they will do but when an ask is actually in front of them they do something completely and altogether different. Most often leaning on the side of giving when they thought they wouldn’t and/or giving more than they thought they would.
I have said this for years and continue to fight tooth and nail with fundraisers who want to offer donors mailing limitations proactively. Donors say they only want one letter a year or no mail and “I’ll just remember to give” then what happens in reality – they all start to lapse and you are stuck with the mailing restriction they gave you. I 100% believe in honoring mailing restrictions asked for but would never include a survey of mailing preferences to every donor. My fundraising would tank!
Email solicitations are too quick. People are busy. A piece of mail has a longer “shelf life” sitting in your entry hall, on your coffee table or on your kitchen counter than email which after 6 hours is piled on top of by 20 other emails from Kohls, Facebook and Great Aunt Sally’s newest email joke (which you saw 5 years ago but she is still new to email). But people love paying or giving online (as do I) so I 100% agree that an option to give online should ALWAYS be included in the mailer.
So far this fiscal year my September donor renewal mailing is beating last year’s September mailer by 20% in number of donors and by 33% in revenue. I have no reason to suspect that by continuing to apply best practices that this will not be a similar scenario (and definitely not a decline!) in November when I send my next mailer.
Thanks Alan!
I agree with Melissa. Direct mail does have longer shelf life and is a tangible reminder for donors. Though I wouldn’t rule out multichannel campaigns to broaden reach. Bottom line is direct mail still is – and will continue to be – part of any effective campaign.