In Integrated Direct Response, the smallest change on an envelope can make or break whether a donor’s going to open it.
Like the colours used, or just the angle of the stamp, implying a human touch.
And then once they open it, the smallest details can influence how much of it they read. That’s why we teach our clients to always include a P.S. in their letter. Always, always, always. Because the donor is going to read it first. And if they like what it says, they’ll go back to the top and scan the whole thing.
They’ll read what’s bolded, underlined, italicized, and highlighted, or in the margin.
Oh, and when we have a double-sided letter, we’ll never end a sentence at the bottom of
page one, it will always carry over to page two, which means the donor will flip it over and keep reading. (See what I did there?! You kept reading after that unrelated call out because the sentence wasn’t over!)
So we’re always thinking about those details, but details matter everywhere, not just with Direct Response.
They matter in Major Gifts, too. And one of the details that can get missed is how they work together.
Direct Response is the most personal storytelling tool you have, outside of sitting face-to-face with a donor and telling them a story.
But a lot of people exclude Major Gift donors from direct mail pieces. I don’t love that, and at Kittiwake, we’re not big believers in it.
Eliminating that storytelling opportunity altogether, and just not sending it to them, is a big missed opportunity. So we believe in an inclusion model, not an exclusion model.
We believe in letting the donors decide, rather than making those decisions for them.
So here are some details that can make your Integrated Direct Response and your Major Gifts work better together:
Instead of pulling your Major Gift segment out of your mailing, you can add things like a handwritten note or hand-address the envelope.
You can personalize it to that segment, making them feel more connected and more included.
Give them a blank ask on the reply device that respects their giving level, instead of making them choose between pre-selected options.
When you personalize your messages to Major Gift donors, you can give them the option to write in their own amount.
Use the mail as a reason to call or visit, by reaching out to them directly and letting them know about the story they’ll be receiving soon in the mail.
You can ask them to give it special attention, and to let you know what they thought of it once they’ve received it.
You can give Major Gift donors the opportunity to read the story and get connected to it, and feel closer to the mission, instead of just hearing the words of the fundraiser.
Afterall, fundraising is never just one thing, it’s 10 things working together that result in a gift. But for every detail you miss, or remove, you’re limiting your results.
So there’s one more detail I don’t want you to miss:
A lot of people think of Integrated Direct Response and Major Gifts as worlds apart. But I hope this newsletter today is showing you that they’re not, they’re actually connected and work together!
In it, you’ll learn the details of Major Gift fundraising from and with fellow fundraisers, and you’ll get one-on-one coaching on your real asks and real pipeline.
In this work, every detail matters. And I think the best way to stay on top of those details is to learn from other fundraisers and share what we’ve learned with the wider community.
So that when one of us learns something important, we all get a little bit of lift.
Speak soon,
Mackenzie
P.S.: Please forward this newsletter to a fundraiser in your life who sweats the details, we’d love to share what we’ve learned and learn from them, too
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