Traditional DM methods bring holiday cheer for nonprofit Habitat for Humanity, the Americus, GA-based home-building nonprofit, is sticking with the same old direct mail techniques this holiday season. The reason? Those traditional techniques work.
Like most nonprofits, which mail out the heaviest volume of mail in November, Habitat considers the season to be extremely important for fund raising. It expects to collect more than $5 million from its fall prospecting campaign.
Those who don’t know the group’s name do know about its most prominent spokesperson and volunteer: President Jimmy Carter, who helps build homes for families in need. So it’s no accident that a mail piece this holiday season begins: “I am inviting you to join with former president and first lady Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter…”
The piece goes on to tell the story of a family, crowded into a “tiny, two-bedroom rental house – with a rotted-out roof, missing floor boards and no running water in the kitchen.” The father worked hard at his full-time job, but couldn’t afford anything better on his salary, the copy reads. Once involved with Habitat, though, he spent every spare minute helping to build other folks’ homes. Then one day, the family moved into their own newly constructed Habitat Home.
Sure, this tale pulls at the heartstrings. But it also delivers other messages, which help pull in donor response, says Valerie Beatty, senior director of direct mail. One of the most important messages is that the nonprofit is not a giveaway. “The family stories are one of the reasons we believe our promotions work,” she continues. “There’s a very close connection between Habitat and the homeowners – they have sweat equity from contributing to their own home and/or others.”
That’s why such a story is featured on the multiple millions of prospecting packages that go out in four drops each year during the fall. And the fact that prospects are willing to read through four pages of copy in this age of say-it-quick-or-lose-the-sale, also says something about the group’s creative.
Indeed, Beatty routinely tests six-page and eight-page letters. “We’re not stuck on the formula that only a four-pager will work.”
Another technique that works is enclosing holiday mailing labels or a holiday card to send to a family that just became a new homeowner. “These premiums are an enticement tool,” Beatty points out. “In general, during the holiday season, a premium package will do better.”
Aren’t premiums expensive? Prospects respond to them so well, they are a “cost-efficient” way to acquire donors, because of the large volume the group mails. Besides, it’s much more expensive to send a premium as a reward for giving, she adds.
The holiday card, enclosed in some autumn mailings, is for recipients to sign and mail back to the Habitat, along with their donation. The group then mails the card to a family that just moved into a new home. “The card will bring a note of encouragement to a new Habitat family…” the pitch reads, suggesting that it will probably become “a precious keepsake” to the family that receives it.
“Hopefully, the card serves as a positive reinforcement of the story,” Beatty explains. “It gets down to this involvement with the donor. We refer to the donors as partners.”
The typical Habitat donor tends to be female, but a range of demographic characteristics deliver – including all income groups and ages. The group has tested so many lists during its 24-year history that it can be successful with a variety of files, ranging from nonprofit-donor lists to publishing files and food catalog buyers.
What falls flat in a holiday mailing? “A piece that delivers after the holiday,” she intones.
“We test mail dates to make sure our timing is as accurate as it possibly can be,” Beatty continues, acknowledging that cutting through the direct mail clutter is a challenge at this time of year. “Our hope is that we’ve been successful at conveying our story and being persuasive enough that our organization is the one to which they will contribute.”
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