Published in the Association of Fundraising Professional Aloha chapter newsletter
By Natalie Cook, Director of Marketing

Without question, Hawaii's economy is changing. You can see it in the headlines every week and in the eyes of your colleagues. More and more requests are being made of private foundations and corporate funders. As agencies turn to the generous population of Hawaii, how do you boost your appeal program?

Constituents
Understanding why your current constituents are supporting your organization is critical. Keeping a donor is far less expensive than acquiring new ones. Listening and attending to your current donor base will minimize attrition. Understanding who they are will also provide insights to where to find like-minded individuals. The closest group will be their own circle of friends. Consider creating a rewarding referral or convening program. Acquiring new donors is a long-term proposition. It requires time to educate the prospective donor about your mission and to nurture that relationship. Speaking to the right, qualified prospects will lift your eventual conversion rate.

Messaging
Understanding your constituents will also allow you to identify the appropriate message to solicit the proper response. The common themes use descriptions about your organization, your mission and the difference you’ve made. Modern digital technology now enables you to customize your message to the appropriate constituent groups. This type of 'variable data' implementation can be used in both postal mail and email strategies. Remember, it's more important to communicate what they want to hear versus telling what you want to say.

Channels
Depending on your constituents, there are a number of ways to reach them with your message. According to the Direct Marketing Association*, non-profit organizations nationwide have been increasing the size of their mailers from standard letter envelopes to oversized pieces. DMA statistics show for charities, there has been an 18.7% decrease since 1985 to 2005 in the use of standard envelopes and a 98.9% increase in oversize mailers in the same period. Postcard use has also shown a whopping 213% increase.

Communicating via postal mail is shown to be more effective than soliciting through newspaper, magazine and flier distribution. Between 2004 and 2005, postal mail saw a 9.9% increase in response rate, compared to a 13.0% decline in response through newspaper, magazine and fliers.

It is also interesting to note that while 'traditional' solicitation methods have relatively maintained their response rate in the last ten years, Internet (16% increase) and email fundraising (45%) have shown huge increases.

Match Made in Heaven
Aligning the right types of constituents to your mission is the best fundraising environment to be in. It takes a little resourcefulness to track and manage your donor base but the pay off is incredibly satisfying.

* DMA Statistical Fact Book 2007. Available at the-dma.org