A couple weeks back there was all sorts of this and that written about the fate of direct mail and fundraising in light of some recent reporting done about the last quarter of 2007.

General gist is that some thinkers (who happen to blog) in the online fundraising and direct mail world have been writing quite a bit the last week or two about these topics. Seems to be in response to a Chronicle of Philanthropy article titled “Direct Mail Appeals Suffer, New Survey Finds” (though the article does note that environmental organizations did better than most last year). The survey in question being the Target Analysis Group’s regular report, which I believe Bruce mentioned in a recent call.

Mark Rovner picked up on the article the next day…

…and responded with few kind words about direct mail or the current state of online fundraising approaches, particularly by large membership organizations. It could all be classified as the usual cyclical bit “direct mail is dead, long live direct mail.” But I don’t think Rovner is saying that. Mostly, the concern is that organizations are approaching online fundraising all wrong…
What currently passes for an online fundraising model is at best a stopgap. Here is the current online fundraising model: build your prospect list however you can and then bombard them relentlessly with email solicitations. If you’re clever, maybe throw in mail and phone solicitations as well. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

It gets at this, I think, which I’d agree with… lots of people want to do more and can do more (and lots don’t, sure, but that’s changing). They want to participate directly. They want to see evidence of results. The internet has made this sort of transparency quick and easy in many other areas of life. Expectations are changing. And it is increasingly easy for people to fundraise on their own, lead their own campaigns for their own causes - be they small and somewhat local or personal or just their piece of something larger.

Seth Godin picked up on Rovner’s post.

Seth is Mr. Flip the Funnel (the internet has empowered citizens and this changes how organizations/governments/businesses deal with their constituencies). His argument makes sense though in principle though I’m not sure how well it has been measured and evaluated for in terms of ROI. I like these quotes in particular…

As soon as commerce started online, many non-profits discovered lots of income from their websites. This was mistakenly chalked up to brilliant conversion and smart marketing. In fact, it was just technologically advanced donors using a more convenient method to send in money they would have sent in anyway.

and

The internet allows some organizations to embrace long-distance involvement. It lets charities flip the funnel, not through some simple hand waving, but by reorganizing around the idea of engagement online. It means opening yourself up to volunteers, encouraging them to network, to connect with each other, and yes, even to mutiny. It means giving every one of your professionals a blog and the freedom to use it. It means mixing it up with volunteers, so they have something truly at stake. This is understandably scary for many non-profits, but I’m not so sure you have a choice.

If this is indeed the case it is a challenge for The Wilderness Society and many/most other large organizations. Not that we can’t and not that we don’t do a smattering of it here and there but this sort of engagement sounds a lot like “field organizing” and we seem to prefer a very back seat “mentoring” approach to this. Making that work while building and exciting a larger online audience is going to be challenging.

My take on all this is, perhaps not surprisingly, that we’re doing a pretty good job moving forward (with some caveats). Direct mail is certainly not going away though the dynamics are always changing. Obviously, data integration is important. But we’re doing well by integrating the staff, planning, strategizing between membership and ecomm.

My hope is that we can further break down silos and make better use of the web and non-email campaign communications for touching/involving people … and moving them up the ladder of engagement. There seems to be interest in this coming from other parts of the organization - the wilderness campaign for example - though it seems that strategizing/planning/expectations are happening in their own sort of silo.

A couple related blog posts of interest on this thread come from Roger Craver… and Blackbaud’s own blog.

The Blackbaud post doesn’t offer much new to the debate - but it is interesting/great that a company like Blackbaud has such a blog and uses it for this sort of transparent commentary.

Craver’s blog is worth checking in on once in a while if not daily. His parting words are worth it…

Recommendations for the Direct Mail Dependent

Read and heed the recommendations and trends outlined in last Monday’s Agitator. Particularly those involving new media.
Understand that direct mail isn’t dead, but it sure is changing. It still is the most predictable, and if managed properly, secure part of your fundraising channels. So, do it well and benefit. BUT…make sure you’re using part of that direct mail revenue to open up new channels.

Get serious, and I mean serious, about online involvement of donors and volunteers and those prospectively interested in your cause. This means investment. Organizational change. Risk taking. Courage. Guts. Patience.

As I noted in last Monday’s piece, there’s a whole new group of donors out there — but they must be engaged, they must be legitmately involved in your mission, and you have to nurture them with solid information and meaningful involvement. It’s instructive that Seth Godin’s post right before his “I gave at the office” post is about the dangers of “dumbing down” customers (donors). Dumb donors are the worst kind, so invest properly providing your donors with the best information you can and the opportunities for involvement.

Invest your own time in understanding what’s going on out there. Let your mind wander out and about like a hunting dog on the scent — on the trail for new ideas, new thinking, new ways to advance your cause.
Not only should you be reading The Agitator each day, take advantage of the resourses listed in our BlogRoll.
Finally, download Seth Godin’s FREE e-book titled Flip the Funnel, which in his words will help you…

“Turn strangers into friends.
Turn friends into donors
And then… do the most important job:
Turn your donors into fundraisers.”

If think you don’t have time to do all this, then you oughta befired

Roger Craver