Recency: The latest donation or activity recorded for an individual.
Record: A single, unique entry in a database with some or all of the fields specified. A record in a donor database, for example, contains the information for one donor, including such things as name, address and phone number. A record in a database is usually the equivalent of a row in a spreadsheet.
RFM: Recency, Frequency, Monetary Value, a formula used by direct mailers to calculate the income potential of names on a mailing list.
Renewal mailing: A direct mail fundraising package mailed to donors or members who have supported the organization’s work, inviting the donor or member to renew support with a donation.
Reply card: A card included in a mailing, which the donor completes and returns to the sender in response to the ask. Often postage-paid.
Response count: The number of responses received from a mailing, expressed as a total number rather than a percentage.
Response device: The coupon, order form or reply card that a donor completes and returns to the sender to complete a donation.
Response rate: The number of responses received from a mailing, expressed as a percentage of the total number mailed.
Return Postage Guaranteed: An endorsement printed on the face of envelopes stating the sender will pay the post office to return undeliverable standard (third-class) bulk mail.
Retest: See Back test.
Roll-out: Mailing a package to the remaining portion of a mailing list after having tested the package on a smaller portion of that list. See Continuation mailing.
