Its easy to get caught up in the digital hype. Were now used to hearing terms like click throughs and impressions as frequently as response rates and average gifts.
Surely theres enough data now to finally forego four page letters and move across completely to the online space. Perhaps its time to acknowledge the direct mail doomsayers are right after all.
Not so quickly. At Pareto Fundraising we spend a lot of time looking at data. We spend much of that time looking at benchmarking data, in other words how charities stack up against each other. And specifically, understanding where growth is coming from in the sector. In recent times weve done this in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and also have data from the U.K. and South East Asia.
One of the things weve witnessed in recent times is the emergence of new technologies. No surprises there. Simultaneously weve witnessed offline direct mail media plateau. That doesnt however sound the death knell for the mail.
Let me explain.
1. Still a large chunk of the pie. Despite a drop in income in Canada in 2009, cash income from direct mail still accounts for 60 percent of all onetime cash gifts and 20 percent of all income from individuals. Hardly pocket change. We know this to be true in all developed fundraising markets. Onetime cash gifts and the mail may not be growing, but they still account for a large slice of revenue for most charities.
Editors note: In the United States, direct mail consistently remains one of the most important and successful types of fundraising as shown by AFPs State of Fundraising Survey through the years.
See full article at: Direct Mail in a Digital World – Resource Center – AFP.
