Cost Cutting Suggestions for Fundraisers

We've written recently about fundraising during a recession, but we also really like some suggestions from Mal Warwick about minimizing direct mail fundraising costs.

Warwick proposes that you:

• Focus on list exchanges.

  Exchange lists with other organizations rather than rent your lists. Besides reducing your acquisition costs, often exchange names perform better than rentals because they come from lists filled with donors who have demonstrated their interest in a cause like yours.

• Mail to lapsed donors.

  If you have been ignoring recently lapsed donors, a recession is a good time to start including them again. Lapsed names are free (no list costs because they are from your own list), and reactivated donors can be more valuable than new donors simply because you did have a relationship with them at one time.

• Focus on your highest value donors.

  Focus on the core 10 or 20 percent of your list that generates most of your net revenue. Personalize and use first-class postage to make sure these donors get your mailings. Consider even paying return postage. Don't cut corners with this group...treat them even more royally.

• Gang print.

  Forget about printing different outer envelopes with various messages, or printing different ones from mailing to mailing. These can make a difference, but only marginally. Be uniform and print in large quantities to save lots of money.

• Reduce postage expenses.

  Take full advantage of postal discounts. Correct your file regularly using the National Change of Address list to achieve the best rates, and commingle with other mailers to get even lower rates and faster delivery.