Direct Mail Motivation Greater Online Donations for NonProfits

Direct Mail Motivation Greater Online Donations for NonProfits

Donors are more than three times likely to give an online gift in response to a direct mail appeal than an e-appeal, according to a new national study.

The study, conducted on behalf of non-profit advising firm Dunham+Company by research firm Campbell Rinker, found that 17% of donors who gave via a charity website in 2011 said that a direct mail letter prompted their online gift, versus 5% who said they gave online because of an email. What do the findings mean for nonprofits?

“We conducted this survey because we wanted to see if direct mail was diminishing as a source for online donations, and if so, what was driving the increase in online giving that we were seeing,” stated Rick Dunham, President/CEO of Dunham+Company. “Finding that direct mail has actually grown as a driver to online donations and that online efforts were not really moving the needle was a bit of a shock.”

“Charities need to be very circumspect about where they put their fundraising dollars,” Dunham continued. “It’s clear that it’s a mistake to reduce offline communications thinking the online activity is what is driving online giving. This is especially important considering the way the core donor demographic of 40 and older donors is responding online when receiving offline communications.”