While so much of our daily lives is now conducted online, one vestige of our paper past – a remnant of fundraising days of yore – still holds strong. Direct mail, in all its varied and colourful incarnations, continues to fill our mail slots, drop to awaiting floors, and give our mail carriers backaches. Yes, in this electronic age, direct mail is holding its own. But how is it achieving this improbable feat and what lies ahead for this traditional element of direct response marketing, especially as donors become increasingly tech savvy?

Still going strong after all these years

According to Harvey McKinnon, direct mail is responsible for raising 30 to 40 billion dollars for North American charitable organizations in recent years. And though it may have reached a plateau, it still remains a phenomenal income and name generator. President of Harvey McKinnon Associates, a direct mail and monthly giving agency based in Vancouver, and author of the bestselling book The Power of Giving, McKinnon helps clients in Canada and the U.S. raise much-needed funds. Since nonprofits can’t afford to get on billboards or TV, he says direct mail is critically important. Plus, the effort put into direct mail today will pay off in the future. “Once donors join your program, many will be giving 15 years down the road and if you can convert them to monthly giving, many will be giving 30 years down the road.”

One of the reasons direct mail is so profitable, says McKinnon, is that it appeals to people with the most money in society: those who are older and more established. “As people age,” he explains, “they tend to be more philanthropic; they also have more disposable income.” While there are still some younger direct mail donors, the significant number of respondents tend to be over the age of 55. Furthermore, once these donors join monthly mail programs they are more likely to make planned gifts that they’ll fulfill sooner and in a more committed fashion than younger donors.

Know who your donors are

Of course, donor demographics vary depending on the charity and its respective field of operations. Maya Dimapilis manages the direct mail program at the British Columbia division of the Arthritis Society. “Direct mail is our bread and butter,” she states emphatically. Since a lot of the sufferers of arthritis tend to be older, the demographics and target markets are positioned toward the older donors, Dimapilis explains. A charitable organization in the health field is, therefore, well-aligned with direct mail. “Donors are used to an older form of technology,” she says. And they use it a lot. In fact, a recent report comparing last year’s direct mail donations to the Arthritis Society with this year’s donations indicated total gifts have actually increased.

Over at the Canadian Cancer Society, direct mail campaigns have had a resurgence. Though in decline the past few years, Deanna Bayne, manager of direct response at the organization’s Vancouver offices, says the electronic age has not deterred this renewed focus. “We are expecting to see the acquisition rate go up until it plateaus,” she states with confidence. Her confidence is understandable. After all, the biggest income generator at the David Suzuki Foundation, where Bayne worked prior to coming to the Cancer Society, was none other than direct mail.

While all of this is good news for now, can nonprofits escape the realities of the information age and the older donor base? Although direct mail respondents still abound, there is no question many are looking for Internet-based options. Then, of course, there are privacy laws and the restrictions on trading lists. And the costs. In the end, these limitations are forcing many organizations to adapt, evolve and integrate, all in the name of keeping their donors – and keeping them happy.

Welcome to the evolution

In fact, when Bayne came on board at the Canadian Cancer Society she brought McKinnon along for the ride. He helped them refine their program and cater it to their specific organization. “Donors that give to healthcare are different than donors that give to the environment,” she points out. “So we analyse the different donors and learn what they like and dislike.” A much more complex direct mail program was the result of their hard work. For example, one mailout included an engagement device asking donors to write down their personal stories of cancer survival. The responses were later posted on the windows of the Cancer Society for all passers-by to read.

For Dimapilis, the evolution involved adding more value to their pieces by including a newsletter with mailouts. This not only allowed the Arthritis Society to lessen its costs by sending out one piece instead of two, the combined direct mail piece also seemed to result in an increase in the number of gifts from the previous year. The bottom line, she says, is that “you need to build relationships and that has to encompass more than just a mailout. You need to target them properly and connect with them in every way possible – phone calls, events, e-mails. There has to be an integrated type of communication.”

Angie Mackie heads up the Donnée Group, a direct response consultancy based in Toronto. Direct mail programs are still going strong, she says. “A lot of our donors are seniors and they still have chequebooks.” But, she acknowledges, the tides are turning. As a result, the new buzzword at the Donnée Group headquarters is data. By analysing the particular data of each donor, their individual wants and needs, Mackie is able to devise much more sophisticated and targeted programs for her clients. “For example, different people get messages at different times of the year.” Another approach involves personalizing the high end segments, such as adding handwritten notes to direct mail packages.

Connecting with donors is key

A similar change is occurring at the Alberta division of the Arthritis Society. In fact, according to executive director Cathy Miller, the changes in their direct mail program began close to eight years ago. Their proactive stance came as a result of a number of factors, including the desire to establish stronger relationships with donors. “I think there’s a lot of fatigue for the same old stuff,” Miller says. A new approach has allowed the organization to become more responsive to the consumer. While in the past they may have sent out nine to twelve pieces a year, often drowning the donor in paper, they currently mail only as often as requested by the donor. There is also more of an emphasis on communicating with donors. Many of the pieces provide information about the programs they’re running, inviting them out to events, building relationships along the way. “You can’t continue to send out your form thank-you letter to all your respondents and think that’s going to cut it in the future.”

Harvey McKinnon couldn’t agree more. Nonprofits need to up the ante, especially in light of the increasingly competitive charitable marketplace. “You have to give people a good reason to give,” he says. Outsourcing direct mail campaigns and giving experts the job of creating winning and emotionally-compelling copy, is one way nonprofits have been able to stay ahead of the game, he offers. “People only give for emotional reasons and if you move them emotionally, they will give you money.”

Is the price always right?

What about cost? The high price tag attached to some of these direct mail programs can also present obstacles. “You can send out a million letters online and not have to pay anything close to the cost of direct mail,” says Dimapilis. The price of quality paper and the constantly rising cost of postage stamps all add up. According to Mackie, if you’re a small group without a base of support and you need to build a list from scratch, the cost could be overwhelming. In those situations, she advises that unless your cause is one that fits well with direct mail campaigns, such as hospitals, health charities or universities, “it may be better to go out and look for a grant or something similar.”

According to Rob Ferguson, a consultant with the Knowledge Marketing Group, nonprofits who deplete their budgets on direct mail would be much better off if they focused on building brands. While acknowledging that these programs can be useful tactical tools, pieces of the overall puzzle, he cautions nonprofits not to rely on them too heavily. “If it has a place as part of a broader strategy, that’s good, but quite often the nonprofits use direct mail as the bulwark of their communications,” Ferguson says, adding that this approach can be short-sighted. Organizations tend to equate donations with the belief that donors understand who they are, but they are mistaken, he points out. Nonprofits need to be focused on telling their story and building long term associations if they are going to effectively build their brands and carve out a successful future.

So where will direct mail evolve in the next 10 years? Will we see it integrated with e-mail campaigns or some other form of technology? Will organizations heed Ferguson’s warning and use it only as part of an overall campaign strategy? Will we even see it at all? It seems only time – and your mail carrier – know for sure.

Elisa Birnbaum is a freelance print and broadcast journalist living in Toronto.