Avoid the Postal Hike Blues

Volume 10: Issue 2 | June 2007
Can Email Save the Environment?
Correct Use of E-Mail Helps Save the Environment and Boost Donations
Dr. David Crooke, Founder and CTO, Convio Inc.
Send
L
ast week was quite typical, in that I received 78 items
delivered to my mailbox by the USPS. There were a wide
variety of items from a wide variety of senders, and as you’d
imagine, most of them were advertisements and solicitations. The direct mail industry in the United States delivers 4 million tons [1] of such materials annually to our
homes and businesses, of which a significant proportion is
sent on behalf of nonprofit organizations. This process has
cont. on page 14
Also in
this Issue
3
5
8
10
18
21
24
Letter from the Chair
Avoid the Postal Hike Blues
Recycling & Polution Reduction in the Workplace
4 Reasons to Love the Under 40 Crowd
9 Channel Integration Tips to Make your Constituants Smile
Social Networking
The Evolution of Environmental Planning for Direct Marketers
…and MORE
2006-2007 Leadership
Following are the members of the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s
Advisory Council with leadership responsibilities:
CHAIR
Diana Estremera
Chris Ragusa
May Development Services
Estee Marketing Group, Inc.
Craig Floyd
David Strauss
National Law Enforcement
Officers Memorial Fund
National Wildlife Federation
Barry Giaquinto
Women’s Sports Foundation
ASPCA
Jeanne Harris
Special Olympics
Mary Arnold
SCA Direct
Kevin Whorton
Christian Children’s Fund
Susan Loth
Vinay Bhagat
Disabled American Veterans
Whorton Marketing
& Research
Convio
Joel MacCollam
Kelly Browning
World Emergency Relief
American Institute for
Cancer Research
Steve Maggio
Paula Cain
Kristin McCurry
Phil Claiborne
MINDset direct, LLC
Elks Magazine
Matthew Panos
Christopher Cleghorn
Food for the Hungry
Easter Seals
Geoffrey Peters
Brian Cowart
Creative Direct Response
Angie Moore
American Cancer Society
VICE CHAIR
Chris Paradysz
ParadyszMatera
MEMBERS
Jo Sullivan
Joan Wheatley
STAFF
Senny Boone, Esq.
Executive Director
DaVinci Direct
Helen Lee
Director, Member Programs
and Education
Jill Murphy
Senior Manager, Member Services
ALSAC - St. Jude
new BLOG!
www.nonprofitIntegrator.org
The Power of Direct. Integrated and Blogged.
2
Letter from the Chair
Angie Moore, American Cancer Society
D
ear Nonprofit Federation Friends,
How many times have you looked back over time
and realized how fast it has passed? In today’s world,
the phrase “time flies” doesn’t seem to truly capture
the essence of how quickly our lives, businesses, and
industry are moving and, in fact, changing.
Next month I will step down after two years as
your Chair, and after seven years as a member of
your Nonprofit Federation Advisory Council. It
is with great pride and pleasure that I look back
on all that we have accomplished and overcome as
an industry to ensure the continued focus on the
critical missions we all support.
But, before I talk about our industry’s
accomplishments and challenges from the last year,
let me compliment all of you -- the members of the
Nonprofit Federation.
It is because of your professionalism and
commitment to this industry and your missions
that being your Chair gave me such great pleasure.
Being a volunteer leader in an association that
is built on professionals who lead and persevere
against tough odds, challenging market trends, and
changing consumer behaviors was truly an honor.
And while I prepare to step down from an official
role, I realize my involvement in the future is
still critical – as is yours. In fact, your continued
commitment to be involved, participate, and take
advantage of the services and benefits of your
membership cannot lessen. Members taking
that step into volunteer leadership through the
various DMANF event committees and educational
opportunities, and into Advisory Council leadership
roles is the reason we are successful today. I urge
you to stay involved, and if you are not already, I
urge you to contact me personally and talk about
why you should be.
If you are asking yourself why this is important,
let me mention just a few of the issues we have
been dealing with this past year alone, which have
required your input, feedback, and support.
• After nearly 12 years, postal reform legislation
passed with the support of DMANF and its
members. It preserves the preferred rate for
nonprofit organizations, and creates a price index/
price cap regime administered by a strengthened
regulator, the Postal Regulatory Commission.
This should stave off large rate increases, and
enhances the future of this struggling federal
agency.
• However, postal challenges continue to be on the
horizon. Delivery is at an all-time low, which is
affecting the great efforts of many of us. There
is a continued focus on policy changes as to what
types of mail qualify for nonprofit rates. We
cannot lose sight of these issues.
• The marketplace has changed dramatically over
the last five years, and continues to shift. Our
industry is committed to being in front of and
prepared for these changes. The sharing of
ideas, expertise, and strategies has grown at a
tremendous pace, with year-over-year increases
in the number of top-quality professionals,
companies, and speakers who are convening in
New York and Washington, DC to talk about our
challenges, successes, and opportunities.
• Regulation continues to be top-of-mind for
Congress, and our continued focus must be on
the education of mission impact relative to some
of these regulation proposals. In fact, great
attention has been paid, and will be required in
the future, regarding the Do-Not-Mail proposals.
• And, a final example of great importance, is our
constituents. It is a simple fact that no mission
can be met without the help of the millions of
constituents in America, and in some instances,
around the world. To count on people to “take
3
care of us,” we must take care of them as well.
As we build more affinity and support for the
causes we represent, support, and consult
on -- we must also focus on ensuring the very
nature of charitable involvement stays top-ofmind and “top-of-class” when it comes to integrity and ethical business practices. Guarding consumer privacy should not be something
up for discussion; nor should it be thought of
as a “membership compliance” issue. Simply
put, it should be automatic, and a way of doing good business. Through its leadership on
ethics compliance, DMA has and will continue to demonstrate those best practices, publish ethical guidelines, and educate as widely
as possible on the importance of integrity as a
business strategy.
we achieve tremendous relationships and
make great progress for great causes. We
provide people around the world the
information they need to make decisions in
their daily lives, and to foster their desire to
give back to society and make a difference.
When I wrote to you the first time in 2005
as your new Chair, my perspective was that
the road ahead continues to be wide and long,
full of opportunity, and that I looked forward
to traveling it with you. Well, it has been a
tremendous journey, and while at times our
road has felt like the autobahn, my travel
partners have been the best! I look forward
to our continued journey, and thank you for
all that you do, every hour of every day, for
this industry and in pursuit of your missions.
These are just a few critical issues facing
our industry today -- and reasons why your
continued involvement and leadership are
needed.
I believe that with the right strategies, the
right segmentation, and the right messages,
Angie Moore
Chair
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4
Avoid the Postal Hike Blues
Green Your Operations and Avoid the Postal
Hike Blues With E-Mail Appending
Rita Allen, Manager, Nonprofit Group, FreshAddress, Inc.
Austin Bliss, President, FreshAddress, Inc.
F
or charitable organizations, raising funds has become more difficult than ever.
Fundraising costs have risen while the number of charitable organizations and needy
causes has skyrocketed, due to factors such as ever-increasing terrorist activities and
catastrophic weather conditions. There is now much more competition for a portion
of donors’ mindshare and wallets -- especially during the current extended presidential election campaign season.
Unfortunately, the traditional channel of communicating with one’s donors and
prospects is becoming cost-prohibitive. According to The Chronicle of Philanthropy,
the recent postal rate increase will cost charities an average of 6.7 percent more for
sending fundraising letters, while nonprofit periodical rates will increase an average
of 11.7%. Moreover, even without the rate increase, nonprofits can’t afford to send
direct mail pieces on a regular basis: the ROI just isn’t there.
GOING ONLINE IS KEY
The solution is to convert your offline donors to multichannel donors, and reach
them through e-mail. E-mail will allow you to cost-effectively touch your members on
a regular basis.
The findings of a recent study by Convio, Inc. and StrategicOne are significant:
1. “Donors engaged through multiple communication channels have higher longterm value, retention, and lifetime value.”
2. “Dual-channel donors gave as much through offline sources as offline-only donors,
indicating that the online channel does not cannibalize revenue from direct mail.”
3. Dual-channel donors “receiving e-CRM outperform those who only receive offline
communication – giving twice as much or more over their lifetimes, primarily driven by a lift in giving frequency.”
4. “The increased value of adding an online donation and solicitation channel for donors acquired offline is $44.71 (a 39% increase) per donor over 12 months.”
5
And a study released by the Association of Fundraising Professionals found that nearly 88% of
the groups that raised money online said donations increased last
year.
BUILDING AN E-MAIL
ADDRESS DATABASE
“I’m convinced,” you say. “The
problem is, I only have e-mail addresses for a small percentage of
my donor database. What can I do
to quickly build my e-mail address
database in an ethical and cost-effective manner?”
• First, make building your email address database a top
priority. There’s nothing better you can do in the next 12
months to green your operations while dramatically increasing your revenues.
• Ask for an e-mail address at
every touch point with your
donors. Your Web site, your
direct mail pieces and solicitations, and your call centers
should all be striving toward
obtaining e-mail addresses
whenever possible.
• Be sure to understand that your
members will not be as free to
hand out their e-mail addresses as people were in the late
1990’s when the Internet was
in its infancy. Give people multiple reasons why they should
offer up their e-mail addresses
-- saving paper, donation confirmations, access to special
research, updates on relevant
legislation or local initiatives,
cost-savings to your organization so you can use your funds
to help those in need rather
than spend these dollars on
postal costs, etc.
• And bring in an external vendor to help you add opted-in
e-mail addresses to your postal
donor database through a process called e-mail appending.
When performed in a professional and conscientious manner by a reputable vendor, email appending can help you
jumpstart your e-mail marketing initiatives and dramatically
increase the size of your e-mail
database in a short period of
time.
BENEFITS OF E-MAIL
APPENDING
Here are some reasons to add
e-mail appending to your list
growth strategies:
• It’s Green. Tell your donors
that you wanted to save a tree
and contact them by e-mail instead. If you don’t have their email address, you have no costeffective alternative to sending
them paper.
• It’s Fast. A vendor can find 1025+% of your missing e-mail
addresses from among your
constituent data in a matter of
weeks.
• It’s Easy. You don’t have to
make changes to your Web site;
you don’t need to design a new
creative, etc.
• It’s Inexpensive. You’ll probably pay $0.30 or less per email address found -- less than
the cost of a postcard -- and the
price goes down as the input
file size goes up.
• It Increases Revenues. The
6
sooner you can contact your
donors through the e-mail
channel, the faster you can
benefit from the power of the
multichannel relationship.
• It’s Repeatable. You can use
your vendor every quarter, as
new data are always arriving.
• It’s Easy to Calculate ROI. If
you send out a postcard asking
donors for their e-mail address,
you can only estimate response
rate and cost per e-mail acquired. With appending[how
does this work???], you know
your costs upfront, and ROI is
easy to figure.
Many nonprofits are already
utilizing e-mail append services
to build their e-mail list. They’re
insulating themselves against the
postal rate increases while reaching potential donors faster and
more cost-effectively.
MAKING IT WORK
To make sure your e-mail append runs smoothly, just follow
some simple rules:
1. Get informed; find and work
with an experienced vendor
whom you trust, who will provide you with only 100% optedin data, and who has robust
e-mail hygiene processes in
place so you won’t be sold junk
addresses.
2. Only append your donor list,
not your prospect list.
3. Understand the match-type
your vendor is using -- and how
to avoid sending a “Dear Sue”
e-mail to Sue’s husband.
4. Budget for the right vendor.
You get what you pay for, and
in this industry, price is a good
indicator of quality.
5. Don’t drop your results in with
your house file. Take the time
to message them separately
and introduce them to the
value of receiving e-mails from
you. This is your opportunity
to discuss the environmental
benefits, cost savings, and other values of your e-mails.
6. Have realistic expectations.
In some cases, recipients may
take some time to ‘warm’ to
this new environment are those
that embrace change and leverage e-mail marketing and technology to help them build deeper,
longer-term relationships with
their donors. Go ahead, take the
plunge and start utilizing an email append to increase the reach
of your e-mail campaigns. You’ll
be glad you did.
FreshAddress, Inc., The E-mail Address Experts, offers customized
solutions for nonprofits to build
and update their e-mail address
lists. Rita Allen is the manager of
FreshAddress Nonprofit Group, and
Austin C. Bliss is the company’s president. For more information on FreshAddress, visit www.freshaddress.
com/nonprofit.
38 Years, 1,000+
Organizations
and 93,000,000
Donors Later
“Give people multiple
reasons why they
should offer up their
e-mail addresses -saving paper, donation
confirmations,
access to research,
relevant legislation
or local initiatives,
cost-savings to your
organization”
We know
there is still a lot of
work to be done
to change the world.
Call us
if you need
a hand with that.
this new communication channel. But, over time, you will
find that recipients are strong
responders and often less fatigued (and thus stronger donors) than your house file.
LIST BROKERAGE AND MANAGEMENT
FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
Remember, there’s a silver lining in every cloud. The pressure
to green your operations combined with the recent postal rate
increase might be just the push
you needed to consider augmenting your e-mail marketing efforts.
The nonprofits that will thrive in
1 3 0 0 C l a y S t r e e t , 11 t h F l o o r
Oakland, CA 94612
415-989-3350
w w w. n a m e s i n t h e n e w s . c o m
7
Recycling & Pollution Reduction
in our Workplace and Community
Richard Goldsmith, President, Horah Division/PGI Companies
I
f you have
any doubt about
the importance
of environmental issues to your
constituents these
days than you haven’t been reading the papers lately. As an example, in February, the
largest buyout in US History ($45 Billion) was
only completed after the Environment Defense Fund said they would stop giving TXU
a hard time if the buyers agreed to drastically
cut back on TXU’s plans to build 11 coal fired
generating plants.
It can be a little daunting to think about
the entire planet Earth and to think that you
can’t make much of a difference – but you can.
Not only can you make a difference on our
planet, you can also help your bottom line. As
you look at the suggestions below, think how
much money you can save by implementing
these suggestions as policies.
The environmental logo of three chasing
arrows stands for Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
We say them in that order because that is the
order of importance. If you reduce, you have
less that you have to reuse or recycle. So first
of all, reduce your use of everything that can
have an environmental impact.
8
1. Use electronic communications both internally and externally as much as possible.
Don’t print a copy of every email. Save it in
a file on your computer.
2. Print and copy onto both sides of a piece of
paper. Citicorp found that they could get a
positive ROI for replacing every copier and
printer in the company that could not duplex print in sixteen months.
3. Use on-line systems for reports, projects
and other work related activities to reduce
paper generation.
4. Substitute durable materials for disposable
products. Buy mugs with your name on
them instead of paper cups. At home, use
dish towels instead of paper towels.
5. Replace incandescent bulbs with compact
fluorescents. This has just been made the
law in Australia.
6. Turn down thermostats.
7. Replace old equipment with equipment
that uses less power, less water, fewer resources.
After you reduce, reuse.
1. Buy paper and packing materials made
from recycled materials with post-consumer content
2. Use recyclable materials and
materials that don’t hinder the
recycling process. For instance,
use glassine windows on envelopes instead of poly.
3. Reuse file folders, hanging
folders and binders where appropriate.
4. Save your paper or hot cup and
use it again later in the day.
And of course, recycle
what you use.
1. Implement in-house recycling
programs for paper, corrugated cardboard, beverage cans
and bottles, plastics, pallets,
printing ink, toner cartridges
and computers.
2. Coordinate recycling practices
with other tenants in your office building
3. Encourage building management in multi-tenant buildings
to sort all garbage.
4. Participate in industry-specific
or government programs for
energy savings, increased recycled procurement and other
environmental goals.
In addition, investigate your
use of energy, water, materials
and your waste management
practices and set internal goals to
reduce, reuse and recycle. Lastly,
recognize and/or reward employees for advancing your recycling
policies and initiatives or suggesting new solutions.
Here’s a big bonus. Reread this
list and you’ll find that most of
the suggestions will actually save
you money. We call this the Triple
Bottom Line – reduce overhead,
be environmentally friendly and
develop a great corporate reputation. You can’t lose.
Once you’ve started at
the workplace don’t
stop there. Promote
and advance recycling
programs in your
community.
1. Tell your donors what’s not
recyclable and where they can
recycle those things that are.
2. Use the recycled symbol to
identify paper and paperboard
products made from recycled
fibers.
3. Make sure all your environmental labeling is clear, honest and complete.
4. Encourage donors to reuse,
return or recycle materials
where appropriate.
5. Provide information about recycling on envelopes, inserts
or in your catalog or newsletters.
6. Encourage donors to start local recycling programs
7. Establish a recycling center on
your grounds if your community doesn’t have one.
8. Partner with local environmental groups and make positive environmental contributions in your local community.
9. Volunteer your organization’s
people for environmental
projects.
10. Participate in local award or
recognition programs.
This is a job that no one person
or organization can do alone. We
can do it if we all work together.
9
Dick Goldsmith is President of the
Horah Div of PGI Companies and the
author of “Direct Mail for Dummies.”
He has been in Direct Marketing over
25 years. He is also a member of the
DMA’s Committee on Environment
and Social Responsibility. He can be
reached at 212-921-4521 ext 207.
Four Reasons You Should Care About
The
Under 40 Crowd
Tom Belford & Roger Craver, co-Agitators, The Agitator
W
e can’t tell you how many times we’ve heard nonprofit executives and marketers blow off the under-40 population.
Why? Because these “youngsters” are perceived not to donate. Because they’re harder to reach and maintain contact with via conventional direct marketing (read: mail), especially in the younger age
brackets. Because they are perceived by cause advocates to be less politically engaged and influential.
Is this wise? We think not. Here are four reasons you should care
about these folks, with some principles to consider while thinking
through your approach to them.
1. First of all, Under-40s do give.
It is a myth that Under-40s do not donate. Our own DonorTrends
research (all stats in this piece are from the DonorTrends survey) indicates that 48% of “Post-Boomers” (those born after 1964, now 42
years or younger) already donate, and this group gives on average $791
per year. Most report giving to groups helping needy Americans, organizations fighting disease, and projects/causes supported by their
church or faith. Looking ahead five years, 56% report that they will
give more in the future, compared to only 12% of Pre-Boomers (those
born before 1946) and 33% of Boomers (born 1946-1964).
Sure, the average ages in many donor files are high: 60 years+ in
most research we’ve seen. Still, there are plenty of Under-40s in most
files, who are coughing up maybe 15-20% of the revenue of many organizations. Go ask your CEO or CFO if they’d like to forego that modest
contribution!
Moreover, as more fundraising resources are devoted to online solicitation, guess what? The average age of donors is driven down. So
younger donors are out there, more efficiently reached these days by
the online medium they prefer. And the big news is that this group devotes 41% of their contributions to causes and politics, as compared to
the 25% so-allocated by Boomers and Pre-Boomers.
10
So, our first principle is: Do your homework. Before you write anybody off, examine
the actual current age profile of your donor
base. Where have the Post-Boomer donors
come from: were they recruited via special
targeting and channels, or were they merely
“bycatch” caught in the net you used to capture
your “normal” donors? If they were specially
targeted, you can calculate the ROI on those
campaigns and donors, compare that ROI to
older segments, and decide what allocation of
fundraising resources might be targeted costeffectively at the youngsters.
Fully 56% of Post-Boomers claim they’ve
never been solicited in the mail, and a surprising 81% have never been solicited by e-mail.
2. Under-40s have proven themselves as valuable
political activists and charity volunteers.
Ever heard of MoveOn.org, or Howard
Dean (or walked around the campaign office
of just about any candidate for public office)?!
Moreover, politics and advocacy aside, Under40s volunteer in many non-political settings
for social service and community improvement charities. Many of the Under-40s who
might be less inclined to donate money are
perfectly happy to donate time.
For cause groups, activist files – most often
built online these days – are typically much
younger than donor files. An environmental
group whose average donor is 63 years old
might have a separate activist group whose
average age is 41 years -- more than 20 years
younger. Meanwhile, studies of civic volunteerism consistently report a high level of
volunteering by our student populations. Interestingly, Post-Boomers seem equally comfortable responding to action alerts in the online world or contributing hands-on services.
Our second principle, then, is that today’s
activist and volunteer needs to be valued in
terms of mission support. Perhaps a more intangible value, but still one deserving a serious level of investment. Moreover, he or she
is also tomorrow’s donor -- adding to the total
pay-off. And the lag time need not be years.
Research and practical experience indicate a
couple of forces at work.
• First, people take the small step before the
big one. For many, indicating one’s political or cause affinity – say, by signing an
online petition – is the more natural first,
hand-raising step. In the old days, collecting handwritten petition lists through the
mail or canvassing, and then mailing fundraising appeals to those names, produced
strong results, thank you. It’s just that the
process was so cumbersome. The online
environment has eliminated the cumbersome part, and smart direct marketers are
finding that online-acquired names – attracted by issue campaigns, e-petitions, enewsletters, e-referrals and other online
engagement tools that capture e-mail addresses – respond spectacularly to subsequent direct mail solicitations. Learn how
to generate and engage hand-raisers first;
donations will follow.
• Second, commercial marketing research
indicates we are raising generations of
experience-seekers. Books are written
on “experience marketing.” The message:
more and more: consumers want firsthand
“involvement” with the products and services they purchase, and with the brands
they choose. The psychological underpinning: a Starbucks java is an experience,
not a cup of coffee. One’s satisfaction with
a “Dell computer” is defined more by the
customer service than by the hardware.
We think this will apply more and more to
would-be donors; a greater chunk of them
will want more engagement with the nonprofit “brands” they choose to support,
11
up to and including actual volunteer participation. Figure out how supporters can
actually experience your organization -- beyond fundraising solicitations and your de
rigueur newsletter.
This includes causes and charities. Sure, it
would be nice if all the issues and social needs
3. All brands need to refresh and
renew themselves, and your
“next” audience can help.
that charities and cause groups are working
on would be successfully resolved before you
and your boss move to the next job or retire.
Then such organizations wouldn’t need to
think about themselves as institutions that
must survive into the future. Unfortunately,
the issues will remain, and so will the need for
the organizations (at least the more effective
ones). Many nonprofit types don’t like to think
in such “institutional” terms; it’s the cause
that matters, after all. For our part, we sure as
hell hope that “institutions” like Habitat for
Humanity, the American Red Cross, and the
ACLU don’t fade away -- just to name a few!
We believe the primary means of ensuring
institutional renewal is to constantly test the
appeal of your agenda, strategy, and tactics
against new audiences -- specifically those to
whom you expect to turn for future support.
These future audiences might well have a different, but friendly, way of thinking your issue. They might want to engage differently.
And they will be a more diverse population, with significantly larger percentages of
people who are African-Americans, Latinos,
or Asians. There is very little fundraising history with these Under-40s with presumably
different life-shaping experiences. You need
to know your potential as an organization for
channeling their interest and energy.
And so, our third principle: Devote resources to testing your brand appeal systematically
with future donors and activists. Conduct research aimed at the younger “clones” of your
current supporters, as well as any other seg-
12
ments you hypothesize might emerge in the
future (eg, do Latinos play a part in your future?). If resources permit, do some “wet testing” against younger targets, but don’t obsess
over immediate fundraising returns. Treat
such expenditures as what they are -- product
development, not revenue-producing sales efforts.
Here is what you need to find out:
• Do Under-40s think your primary concern
is a non-issue? If so, why? What are you going to do about that?
• Do they buy the agenda, but favor different
strategies and tactics or solutions than the
ones you are employing? What are you going to do about that?
• Do they buy the “category” (eg, poverty alleviation), but show no awareness of your
organization/brand? What about that?
• Among the Under-40s, which are the segments that are most interested in your issues and approach? Are those prospective
supporters different in some important
and actionable way from your present donors? How might you deal with that as time
goes on?
• Finally, how are you going to ensure that
everything you learn in addressing these
questions is preserved and transmitted to
the folks who will succeed you in the organization? Do you care enough to make that
happen?
Issue interests can arise at any time for any
individual. In many cases, these interests can
4. If you want them
later, brand awareness
matters now.
emerge well before the individual is prepared
in terms of resources or priorities to join or
contribute to a specific cause, charity, or organization. The challenge: without wasting
resources prematurely, how can your organization manage to be on the radar of these new
prospects when their catharsis occurs and
they need to act?
Our DonorTrends research indicates that
Post-Boomers are the age segment least familiar with groups already working on issues they
do care about. So not surprisingly, they are
the segment most open to supporting groups
they haven’t already heard about (versus the
tried and true). That’s not good news for established nonprofits. Some newcomer with a
cool Web site could be as attractive as a group
with 40 years of accomplishment. It’s “survival of the fittest” out there.
Thus, our last principle: Collaborate on
the “categories,” but sell your brand, whenever you can. We realize that for most nonprofits, this challenge boils down to resources.
If you’re struggling to finance today’s staff
and programs, how can you divert resources
to long-term seed planting?
Perhaps we must simply hope that there
are naturally evolving constituencies for the
issues that concern us. That the confluence
of parental influence, formal education, religious institutions, media saturation, and
innate human sensibilities will somehow
produce a seed bed of Under-40s who will at
the hour of need charge to the barricades on
behalf of good government, helping the disadvantaged, tolerance, civil liberties and human rights, war prevention, the environment,
disease prevention, and other progressive
concerns.
We have to say we’re dubious about this! Not
all boats will rise automatically. Our research
indicates, for example, that Post-Boomers are
twice as interested in human rights and family
values as they are in conflict and arms reduction, or government integrity. They are more
interested in issues that affect them as individuals, as opposed to the collective.
From a daunting list of possible “challenges
to the future of America” (eg, the world becoming more hostile but lagging in educational attainment, global competitiveness, religious
zealotry, ineffective political processes, aging
infrastructures, etc.), only one – the environment – is rated “very important” by more than
30% of Post-Boomers.
5. Targeting remains key
We believe groups working in the same
field or on the same complex of issues should
do much more – in an orchestrated, collective
manner – to “sell their category” (eg, the importance of tolerance, care for the environment, or respect for civil liberties) to targeted
segments of the public. If the Under-40s give
up on key categories (think of these as “priorities” if you prefer), we’re in big trouble.
Given the formidable challenge of selling
anything in today’s cluttered and fragmented
communications environment (Forget that
other stuff) “here’s something you should
care about in the future”), category selling is
only remotely possible at best if groups learn
to cooperate strategically around long-term
awareness objectives.
OK. That said, your day job is laying the
groundwork so that your organization is on
the radar when Under-40s start scanning for
opportunities to get involved. Again, a time
and resource issue.
But we’re not talking about all Under-40s:
you can intelligently target segments and
messaging if you’ve done the homework outlined above. We’re not talking about mortgaging the family fortune; carving out a modest
venture fund will do. And we’re not talking
fundraising; for starters, you just want to be in
the “consideration set” when Under-40s start
shopping for causes and charities.
USE THE WEB!
Fortunately, the Web and related online
tools make far more affordable and routine
the kind of targeted communications that can
project your brand to the sub-audiences that
ought to be aware of you.
The Donor Trends white paper “Four Reasons
Why You Should Care About the Under 40 Crowd”
is available at www.cravermathewssmith.com.
Tom Belford and Roger Craver are veteran marketers and currently write for The Agitator. Visit them
at www.theagitator.net.
13
Can Email Save
the Environment?
continued from cover
an enormous environmental impact -- not just in the consumption of paper itself,
but in the energy to print and distribute it as well.
Every single one of those 78 items in my mailbox, whether advertising material or not, had one thing in common: they were solely communicating information. Not one piece of the mail I got last week involved the delivery of any physical
goods. Don’t we have a better way to distribute information?
On first inspection, e-mail seems like an obvious and perfect substitute for postal mail. It has many similar format characteristics: it’s written, it’s point-to-point,
and asynchronous -- the recipient can read it at their convenience. Moreover, the
environmental impact in order of magnitude is less, as is the cost: it’s much quicker, and in combination with the Web, sets a much lower bar for people to respond.
For direct marketers, e-mail offers a wealth of data about programs that postal
mail cannot match.
However, all things e-mail aren’t quite perfect. By comparison with postal services, e-mail:
• Lacks ubiquity. E-mail has not yet fully matured as a medium. There is no such
thing as an “official” e-mail address for someone, and there are still tens of millions of people in the US who don’t regularly check their e-mail.
“Every single one
of those 78 items in
my mailbox, whether
advertising material
or not, had one thing
in common: they were
solely communicating
information.”
• Lacks reliability: when we send something by postal mail, we’re almost certain
it will be delivered, whereas it’s not unusual for e-mail to get waylaid by an overeager spam filter.
AN ENORMOUS
OPPORTUNITY
Despite these limitations, e-mail still represents an enormous opportunity for
nonprofit organizations to reduce their environmental impact by moving more
communication efforts online, while also reducing costs -- especially in the face of
rapidly rising postal rates -- and improving the quality of, and response to, those
communications.
HOW TO INCREASE YOUR E-MAIL-BASED
COMMUNICATIONS – AND RESPONSE
1. Collect e-mail addresses. The first step in migrating toward more e-mail-based
communications is to obtain your constituents’ e-mail addresses. A typical nonprofit organization has a direct mail house file accumulated over many years,
but only has e-mail contact information for a fraction of those constituents.
Every interaction with a constituent is an opportunity to grow your e-mail
address list. Ensure that all your direct mail and telemarketing vehicles have
an “ask” for an e-mail address. Make sure there is a prominent e-mail subscription box on the home page of your Web site, and that every form on your Web
site (online donations, membership, advocacy, etc.) includes the opportunity
for the constituent to provide an e-mail address and opt-in.
14
Consent is a key element. Unlike postal mail, where unsolicited communications and list exchanges are common, the accepted practice online is to obtain
the constituent’s consent before using an e-mail address for bulk communications. This is an especially important consideration when using an appending
service to convert your direct mail file into an e-mail one.
2. Proactively involve your constituents in the process of moving online, and make
them aware of the benefits to both the organization and the environment. For
example, if you offer a print newsletter as a membership benefit, offer members
the opportunity to receive it electronically instead via your Web site, and let
them know how much money and paper the organization is saving as a result.
Direct response fundraisers are understandably cautious about moving their
programs online. For many organizations, their direct mail program is their
largest single source of funding. Nonprofits have been fundraising using direct
mail for decades, and it’s a medium that is very well understood, with highly
predictable economics and results. Internet contributions continue to grow
rapidly [2], but the science of online fundraising is still evolving.
3. Go multichannel. The key to moving fundraising communications online without putting critical direct response programs at risk is to leverage the synergy
of communicating with donors through multiple channels. Controlled studies
have shown that donors with whom an organization has a regular e-mail relationship will give more frequently and in higher amounts, even when they prefer to continue giving offline.
One successful approach is to use an integrated appeal series - early solicitations can be sent by e-mail, inviting donors to renew online; those who do can be
suppressed from the subsequent direct mail phase, reducing both costs and environmental impact. E-mail can also be used to prime direct mail donors for the
receipt of a direct mail piece, increasing its conversion rate and reducing the need
for follow-up mailings.
EXPLOIT E-MAIL’S
UNIQUE PROPERTIES
E-mail is far more than just a replacement for direct mail. To maximize the value
of e-mail, it is important to exploit the properties of the medium that are fundamentally different from other communication channels.
One such beneficial property of e-mail is its relatively low cost: in direct mail,
the cost of printing and distribution tends to be the governing factor in how often organizations communicate with their constituents, and in whom they choose
to target. Although e-mail is not literally free, it does have a far lower production
cost than direct mail, and this empowers organizations to communicate more often with a wider audience.
A regular, informative e-mail newsletter is the cornerstone of any online communication program, and can be sent not only to current donors or members, but
to any interested party. This allows an organization to build a relationship with an
15
“A regular,
informative e-mail
newsletter is the
cornerstone of any
online communication
program”
individual over time.
Another property of e-mail that direct mail cannot match is its immediacy. With
the correct business processes and careful planning, e-mail communications allow nonprofits to respond to, and take advantage of, current events in the media,
by getting a message out to constituents within hours of a breaking news story.
There are two key elements to the process of immediate e-mail response:
“Another property
of e-mail that
direct mail cannot
match is its
immediacy.”
1. Preparation. Make sure you have appropriate letterheads, layouts, and target
lists set up in your e-mail marketing tools, and appropriate style guides for staff
who are going to use them. If you will be leveraging breaking news for fundraising, make sure the donation forms on your Web site are set up and working. The
only thing the organization staff should need to do is generate a paragraph or
two of text copy, and hit the send button.
2. Empowerment. Nonprofits are very consensus-driven, and it’s not unusual to
have a process where e-mail newsletter content has to be approved by over half
a dozen people in as many different departments. Clearly, that process won’t
work when you’re trying to ride the media wave. Obtain consensus to empower
individual staff members to write the copy and hit the send button; it might not
be quite as polished, but it will get the message across in a timely manner.
STRATEGIC USE OF
E-MAIL WORKS
Although we are still a long way from putting postage meters into retirement,
strategic use of e-mail as a communication medium can empower an organization
to improve outreach, reduce costs, and benefit the environment.
[1] Wikipedia article: “Direct Marketing”
[2] Philanthropy Journal, April 4, 2007: “Online Fundraising Still Growing”
David Crooke is founder and chief technology officer for Convio. Visit www.convio.com
for more information.
Proud Printer of DMA
non-profit Journal
Wayne Magoon 301 843-1995
16
Crisis of the Moment
Do-Not-Mail Gains Steam at Local Level
Senny Boone, Esq., Executive Director, DMANF
For the past year or so, state legislators have
introduced legislation that would create a state donot-mail list registry for their constituents. (See www.
Newdream.org, an organization supporting this
effort.) Last year it was a mere handful, but now we are
seeing more and more bills pop up. To date, there have
been 18 bills in 15 states. Four bills have been tabled
or withdrawn (AR, CO, MD, MT); 4 others have held
hearings but with no further action (CT, RI, TX, WA);
and 1 possible hearing is pending (VT, introductory
only). The rest of the bills have had no action since
their introduction.
As you know, the introduction of legislation is far
from a guarantee that the bill will pass. Legislation is
introduced for many reasons -- ranging from providing
a response to a constituent complaint to vetting a
controversial idea through the legislative process.
To actually pass legislation can be a Herculean task
depending on the issue. In other words, nonprofits
that focus on direct mail marketing and fundraising
efforts need not hit a panic button -- yet.
For the most part, the legislation introduced
exempts 501(c) 3 organizations from a do-not-mail
list requirement. But that will not fix the problem
for a nonprofit if the organization counts on raising
money through the mail. If states begin curtailing the
amount of mail that can be sent, mail volume will drop
off for the United States Postal Service (USPS).
Without the needed mail volume to support
its costs, the USPS will have to raise rates on its
existing ratepayers to fund the universal postal
system. Although we are now in a new rate-setting
environment due to postal reform that requires a
price cap at the rate of inflation each year, the USPS
could potentially argue for rates above the cap due to
exigent circumstances -- and you can be certain that
a widespread do-not-mail registry would be a good
reason to go above the cap.
Additionally, as members have pointed out, the
sources of names and their contact information would
dry up as list providers and the marketing industry
began losing ground due to these registries. Nonprofits
would not have the necessary resources to obtain
the lists they need to continuously recharge their
fundraising efforts with new contacts. Fundraising
and advocacy would be severely challenged by these
registries.
So, what happens now? The DMA is leading the
way in opposing do-not-mail legislation state-bystate, and it is having success in pushing back some of
the bills. It is bringing together a massive coalition of
impacted companies, publishers, service providers,
associations, and others that can mobilize at the
state level to communicate with legislators about the
impact of do-not-mail legislation -- not only on their
particular business, but also on that particular local
economy. There is a tremendous positive impact at
the local level due to the postal channel that many
take for granted.
We certainly have complained regarding poor
delivery and high postal rates, and will continue to
seek better service and affordable rates from the
USPS, but at the same time, we appreciate the fact
that we do have this national resource that should be
protected and preserved to allow local businesses that
support so many individuals and families to grow.
You know that a healthy local community is one
that gives back, so it is quite important that your
organization supports the DMA and the DMA
Nonprofit Federation in a battle to protect the USPS
in the years to come.
You need to brace yourself for the fact that now that
legislation has been introduced, it will be hanging
around for a very long time, and we will have to push
back for a very long time. The genie has been let out of
the bottle, and we need to remain at-the-ready at the
local level, as well as on the national front.
17
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18
9 Channel Integration Tips
That Will Make Your Constituents Smile
Darryl Gordon, Vice President of Marketing, Kintera Inc.
A
s telemarketing gave rise to direct mail, which gave rise to a strong Web
presence and e-communication initiatives, nonprofit fundraisers and marketers
began to understand that new mediums shouldn’t negate what has worked successfully for decades. Rather, new technologies and avenues should be added to
an organization’s existing communications strategy.
The latest challenge, however, lies in not just incorporating multiple mediums,
but in integrating the channels used in a campaign to share a consistent message,
consistent branding, and consistent “ask” (or call-to-action.) All communication
avenues must work together to support the same result.
Constituents, while they may or may not consciously notice, appreciate consistency in their communication from nonprofits. For example, they may feel more
compelled to donate to your organization after receiving three various appeals
for $100 to support cancer research, than they would receiving a $25 appeal for
tobacco prevention, a $125 appeal for asthma education, and a $500 appeal for
air quality advocacy.
To help organizations improve their channel integration strategy, Kintera has
provided nine practical tips to help nonprofit campaigns shine – and keep those
constituents smiling.
9 CHANNEL INTEGRATION TIPS TO KEEP
CONSTITUENTS SMILING
1. KEEP DONOR COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES AT THE
FOREFRONT OF CAMPAIGN EFFORTS.
Your supporters are constantly communicating with you about how they like
to be contacted by your organization. But are you taking note? And more im-
19
ed practice among fundraisers, as organizations understand the value of communicating differently with 25-year-olds interested
in saving whales than they do with recent
retirees interested in rescuing household
pets. Unfortunately, however, the power
and value of segmentation seems to be forgotten during the execution of large-scale,
multichannel fundraising campaigns.
In an effort to achieve maximum impact
and results, many nonprofits mistakenly
use their entire database for every message
and every medium, essentially contacting
their supporter list in exactly the same way.
Segmentation is as critical, however, in integrated, multichannel campaigns as it is
in smaller, one-channel fundraising efforts.
In addition, fundraising results may increase by offering targeted messaging and
appropriate “ask” amounts. Fundraisers
should look at their integrated campaign
as several mini-campaigns, which each
use multiple channels, such as direct mail,
phone, and the Web, to appeal specifically
to unique database segments using appropriate messaging and gift requests.
portantly, do your communication efforts
reflect those preferences?
Best practice dictates that nonprofits offer a preference/unsubscribe option in each
medium used for supporters to indicate
they’d like to exclude certain communication methods. For example, a particular
donor may not have a problem with receiving direct mail pieces, but strongly prefers
e-mail communications, and detests being
contacted via phone.
While a channel integration strategy
involves incorporating multiple mediums
for a well-timed, consistent campaign, donor communication preferences should be
strictly adhered to, and campaigns modified for specific constituents.
2. FORGET LOCATION,
LOCATION, LOCATION:
TIMING IS EVERYTHING.
The best channel integration strategy can
be thwarted by poor timing. A critical
component of an integrated campaign
plan is to ensure that timing is included in
the strategy. Nonprofits should be sure to
look back historically on how frequently
supporters have been contacted in order
to determine future campaign timing to
generate the most revenue. As multichannel
campaigns frequently rely upon multiple
departments -- such as the advertising,
Web, and development teams -- providing
an agreed-upon final task calendar will
ensure teams are on the same page, and
communication mediums are used at wellspaced intervals. Historical campaign
success metrics can provide specific timing
data, such as the best day of the week and
hour of the day to use specific avenues.
USE ONLY THE
“OCCASIONAL” ASK.
4.
Whether it is work or friends or your child’s
school, do you like feeling like you’re constantly being “hit up” for something? That,
no matter how much you contribute or
help, it’s not quite enough, and that more
is required of you? Wouldn’t it sometimes
be nice to be communicated with and feel
like there are no strings attached?
Donors may not want to be asked for a donation 10 times in a four-month timeframe
– even though fundraising is likely the goal
of the campaign. By integrating the channel strategy, nonprofits are afforded the
luxury of not requesting a donation in every supporter touch. Some communication
mediums or opportunities can be used to
educate the database about recent suc-
3. FIND STRENGTH IN
SEGMENTATION.
Segmentation has become a widely accept-
20
cesses, the impact of donor contributions,
or a pressing need. An integrated strategy
reaches donors via multiple vehicles, enabling some methods to be used to educate,
some to request feedback, and some to appeal for donations.
5.
which medium or call-to-action led donors
to take action on a specific appeal or campaign. In addition, constituents become
further engaged with the organization because they’re being reached or touched in
multiple ways. Each cross-link provides a
new and unique opportunity to communicate a message or educate supporters.
BE A NONCONFORMIST.
Traditional direct response channels, such
as direct mail and phone, are commonly
used in nonprofit fundraising campaigns.
Newer technologies, such as Web sites, enewsletters, and e-mail, are being quickly
adopted by the nonprofit community as
well. But just as a Web site for a nonprofit
organization was virtually unheard of 10
years ago, there are new technologies
constantly arising. These need to be carefully considered and incorporated into the
channel integration strategy. For example,
social networking sites like MySpace and
Facebook play a critical component when
reaching certain audiences. Organizations
should constantly be looking out for new
technologies and mediums, which could
enhance and improve the way they reach
donors.
6. CROSS-LINK CHANNELS.
7.
USE WHAT YOU HAVE.
Nonprofits have remarkable amounts of
information about constituents at their
fingertips, but often don’t even realize it.
Organizations should understand that any
feedback provided from a campaign channel can provide valuable information about
a donor and, as a result, should be captured
and stored centrally in their donor management system. A lot can be learned from
this information, and it should be used to
modify and shape future interactions with
the donor. In addition, campaign result information, such as the most successful calls
to action, channels with best response metrics, and total revenue raised, can prove
invaluable in determining how to approach
future channel integration strategies and
campaigns.
8. CENTRALIZE IT!
Not linking between and cross-referencing
mediums is a missed opportunity for nonprofits. In fact, one of the unique and valuable opportunities that multichannel campaigns offer is the ability to cross-reference
between mediums.
An example of cross-linking channels is
a phone solicitation that offers a specific
(and memorable!) Web address or URL
that donors must visit to learn more or receive a special offer. Another example is a
direct mail piece that directs supporters
to call a specific, toll-free number. Linking between mediums enables nonprofits
to glean valuable tracking information on
When nonprofits maintain separate databases by medium, such as the e-mail marketing list, phone list, and direct mail database, they lose the benefit of targeting one
central – and complete – supporter base. In
essence, this defeats the purpose of an integrated multichannel campaign because
separate, decentralized lists can’t ensure
that the full audience is contacted multiple
times in multiple ways.
By using one sophisticated CRM system
to house all donor and constituent data,
nonprofits benefit from the assurance of
know they’re reaching their full constituency with each appropriate medium during
21
“one of the unique and
valuable opportunities
that multichannel
campaigns offer is
the ability to crossreference between
mediums.”
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their integrated multichannel campaign. Working from
separate databases, nonprofits can’t know how many of
their constituents are actually being reached with the
full impact of the campaign – which defeats its purpose.
For example, a donor may be the recipient of a random
e-mail or direct mail piece, but not receive the necessary
additional information, follow-up or multiple “touches”
needed to compel the supporter to give. In addition to
numerous other organizational benefits, a central CRM
database offers nonprofits confidence that the impact of
their multichannel campaign will reach their audience.
9. UTILIZE CROSS-FUNCTIONAL TEAMS.
Many components of an integrated multichannel campaign involve several different departments within a
nonprofit organization, such as IT, communications,
marketing, and development. In order to keep the word
“integrated” at the crux of the campaign, it’s imperative to involve stakeholders from each department early
in the process to obtain help, support, and buy-in, ultimately ensuring successful, well-timed execution of the
campaign.
Creating a cross-functional team should involve securing representation from each department involved
– as well as peripheral departments that may have a
stake in, influence on, or potentially be affected by, the
campaign’s impact. By sharing the vision and expected
outcome of the campaign with the cross-functional team,
you are enabling more ownership, and ultimately, success of the campaign.
A CHALLENGE,
BUT WELL WORTH IT
Nobody said that integrating multiple communication
channels was easy. But while challenging, the ultimate
fundraising results achieved by a well-organized multichannel campaign can be a significant improvement over
previous campaigns. In addition, the long-term result is
developing a deeper affinity to your organization within
the constituent base, as they receive thoughtful, relevant,
and well-timed communication from you.
PA S S I T O N !
As Kintera’s vice president of marketing, Darryl Gordon is responsible for the continued strategic development and execution
of Kintera’s marketing strategy. Visit www.kintera.com.
22
Social Networking Web Sites:
An Opportunity for Nonprofit Organizations?
Nabil Meralli, Founder, Hublounge.com
?
T
he term “social networking” seems to have become a part of everyday language.
It is not difficult to find it mentioned in the media, in conversation, or even at work.
Whether it is the emergence of a new social networking Web site or the acquisition
of an established social networking site by a media conglomerate for an exorbitant
amount of money, these Web platforms remain front-and-center in the next generation of Web applications.
For nonprofits, it is important to identify whether these Internet avenues present a
viable way to empower an organization’s membership, or further enable its goals.
Popular sites like Friendster.com, Orkut.com, and Hi-5.com have demonstrated
that social networking is not just a fad or trend, but a permanent part of the Web landscape. According to the Internet encyclopedia Wikipedia.com, social networking
Web sites use Internet applications directed toward helping connect friends, business
partners, or other individuals using a variety of tools. As a result, it is not surprising
that such sites are one of the fastest-growing Web destinations. The past few years
have seen these sites demonstrate the ability of the industry to go beyond consideration as a trend to a valid destination point attracting a critical mass of users.
23
THE MYSPACE PHENOMENON
The most popular of social networking Web sites, MySpace.com, drew more
than 48 million unique visitors from the United States in April 2006 alone. The
site experienced more than 400% growth year-over-year in its first three years.
MySpace.com was recently purchased by media conglomerate News Corp for over
$500 million.
These growth numbers are even more impressive when compared to the traditional Web portals such as Yahoo! and MSN. For perspective, MySpace.com users
generated an astounding 27 billion page views, compared with 37 billion page
views on Yahoo!, and 21 billion page views on Microsoft’s MSN portal within the
same month.
In the current environment, social networking Web sites are rivaling the traditional Web portals that provided the foundations for collecting Internet traffic.
As the segment is evolving, social networking sites are influencing e-mail and
search engine features, and have the potential to become the new portals of the
Internet. Such findings beg the question as to how these Web destinations became so popular.
WHAT’S THE KEY TO THEIR POPULARITY?
The popularity and emergence of the social networking industry is essentially
psychological, and can be derived from basic human needs. Two of the components of human psychological need -- the desire to stand out, and the desire to
simultaneously belong -- are evident in such platforms.
Social networking Web sites have a root in the behavior of users, and provide
a medium to not only maintain popularity but also expand their reach and contacts. In this sense, a major aspect of social network sites is to allow users to connect with many of their friends – both existing and new. The impact of these services is significant as it essentially expands an individual’s circle of friends. This
is especially relevant for socially reserved or introverted people who find it much
easier to express themselves online than in person.
ONGOING IMPROVEMENTS
MEET USER NEEDS
The Web sites themselves have evolved further to better fulfill these human
needs. Functions of social networking Web sites have grown to aid greater expression; features have been introduced that include creating a unique identity,
communicating with friends, sharing content, and consuming this content. For
example, Web sites like Flikr.com enable users to share photos.
Interestingly, the characteristics of sharing content and content consumption
have the potential to threaten the traditional Internet portals, because users are
able to enjoy next-generation applications such as listening to songs or viewing
videos that were quite static or altogether non-existent in traditional portals.
Industry pundits predict a gradual integration of the two mediums over time
24
into one fully-integrated platform. This notion can explain the organic development of such platforms by traditional search engines such as Google and Yahoo!,
as well as the acquisition of such Web sites by traditional media companies.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS?
With all the attention these social networking Web sites are receiving, where
do nonprofit organizations fit in? At this point in the industry, there seems to be
a disassociation between professionalism and social networking Web sites. Considered the domain of the teen and the young adult market, social networking
sites are used mostly for social interaction. It seems that a legitimization of social
networking technologies for professional means has not yet been achieved.
The emergence of a professional application for social networking is logical
and seems to be on the horizon. Linked-in.com, the most seasoned competitor in
the emerging professional social networking space, attempts to connect individuals within one’s network to others, primarily to recruit. Members can connect
to the network of their friends and business contacts to see if an individual meets
the qualifications they are seeking. For example, if a member was interested in
finding a lawyer specializing in tax law, she can access her network and see if any
of her contacts have access to such a lawyer. She then must pay a nominal fee to
have access to the contact information of the lawyer. The Web site builds on the
power of association.
ROOM FOR NONPROFIT GROWTH
A gap in the market still remains as to an organizationally driven social networking Web site. Most existing sites are directed toward individuals, and have
currently left this area unexplored. This is surprising, since the benefits of social
networking for organizations are numerous. Social networking has the ability to
encourage collaboration among members, create more cohesion, and generate a
sense of belonging. Further, users can feel better connected among other members and volunteers, and can easily be united for a common cause or purpose.
A Web-based platform can also encourage discussion on relevant issues;
through a chat, bulletin board, or messaging function, users can discuss and debate issues of importance to an organization. Finally, if a social networking Web
site is seen as a destination point for other like-minded individuals, it can be an
avenue to recruit future members, or even generate financial support through do-
25
nors for an organization’s causes.
With all the advantages such technologies present for organizations, it is easy
to understand the rationale behind the newest entrant into the social networking
arena, www.Hublounge.com. Hublounge.com aims to enable organizations to
harness the power of social networking technology for free by creating a platform
specifically designed for special interest and nonprofit organizations.
The Web site creates virtual lounges for organizations where members can interact as they would in real life. The Web-based technology that underpins the
site mirrors real-life social interaction, so individuals can meet and talk in virtual
cafes, parks, and restaurants. A picture is required for members in order to create
an individual’s virtual presence in the lounges. (Users can upload another image if they feel uncomfortable posting their picture.) Moreover, it is a dedicated
virtual space where an organization’s members, regardless of their location, can
interact with each other. This is especially beneficial to international organizations that have members across the globe.
A COMPLEMENT TO
AN ORGANIZATION’S OWN SITE
It is important to note that effective social networking Web sites are not meant
to replace an organization’s Web site, but act as a complement to it. The virtual
presence provided by Hublounge.com is owned and controlled by each individual
organization. Furthermore, the site has an ability to make an organization’s virtual lounge open to only their members, or open to all of Hublounge.com’s community to enter and interact. Organizations can provide a link to their virtual
lounge of their own Web site. This community hopes to include volunteers, potential donors, and other special-interest and nonprofit organizations and their
members.
Social networking technology brings multiple benefits to nonprofit organizations. However, it is when an organization uses these technologies properly to
strengthen their membership and coordinate initiatives that the true power and
potential of social networking is unleashed. In the current Internet environment,
nonprofit organizations face three alternatives:
1. Avoid social networking altogether and maintain their current initiatives.
2. Create the technological infrastructure to enable social networking themselves.
3. Look to an existing social networking Web site to create a presence for their
organization and members.
Regardless of your choice, one thing is for certain: social networking technology should be taken seriously as a viable means to accelerate, coordinate, and
manage the operations of your organization.
Nabil Meralli is a founder of the social networking startup www.hublounge.com, and
co-founder and chair of Borderless World Volunteers, an organization that aims to empower youth for leadership in global development. A graduate of the MBA program at the
University of Oxford, Meralli focused his studies on the emerging area of social networking technologies. He can be reached at [email protected]
26
DMA’s Ethics:
The Evolution of Environmental
Planning for Direct Marketers, Version 3.0
Chet Dalzell, Public Relations Director, Harte-Hanks, Inc.
W
aves come and go in the public’s consciousness, and pendulums always
swing, but every time there is a peak or a valley, we mark time with progress and we
usually show we’re all the better for it. Take the Internet. First, there was irrational
exuberance toward anything that carried a prefi x of “e,” and all the discipline that
marked fiscal bottom lines was thrown aside. Then we rediscovered that profit really
matters in e-business, and that e-business is really just business. So today, we have
excitement over Web 2.0, but this time, Internet wave no. 2 has an obsession for metrics that demonstrate return.
And then we have the ebb and flow of the environment as an issue for organizations
to consider. Welcome to Earth Day 2007, our 37th commemoration of the planet.
1970: ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING, VERSION 1.0
The first environmental high tide was circa 1970. The Clean Air Act and Clean
Water Act were aspirations offering a blueprint; the Cuyahoga River [in Cleveland,
OH] was so polluted it caught on fi re; a teary-eyed Native American was part of an Ad
Council campaign for Keep America Beautiful with the call to action “People Start
Pollution. People can stop it”; and Apollo astronauts beamed our first photos of the
Earth back from the Moon. The environment was as nice a fit as our faded jeans. “Being green” resonated with an audience that spanned entire generations – from Boy
Scouts on road-side clean-up detail, to beatniks with solar power in geodesic houses,
to a nation of families, sportsmen, and peace seekers grateful for an expanded network of parks, seashores, forests, and other wildlife management and wilderness areas.
Organizations took notice. Recycled paper – which “looked like” recycled paper –
entered the mainstream, so much so that a newly formed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency created universal symbols to use when labeling such papers. Any charity
could don its green credentials by using recycled paper, taking a stand against pollution and for recycling, and planting trees. In the backdrop, government took a command-and-control approach, too, with business regulations: catalytic converters and
fuel efficiency requirements, bans on certain pesticides, and curbs on smokestack
27
and effluent emissions were hammerheads
to move pollution prevention and resource
conservation along. Many of these measures
were pushed for by conservation and environmental groups.
1990: ENVIRONMENTAL
PLANNING, VERSION 2.0
Fast forward. The second high tide was
1990. The excesses of the 80s gave us ozone
holes, and our first realization that global
warming perhaps was an issue. Three-Mile
Island, Valdez oil spills, Bhopal chemical
leaks, Chernobyl – environmental disasters,
all of them – pointed to the power of people
and industry to destroy surroundings in
alarming ways. Big Business was seen as one
culprit.
Direct marketers were not spared here.
Ahead of the 20th commemoration of Earth
Day, 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save
the Earth received heady publicity. Its fi rst
recommendation: “Stop Junk Mail,” which
persuaded Americans to sign up for the Direct Marketing Association’s Mail Preference
Service (MPS -- a free name-removal service
for consumers, which was first launched in
1971 to help respect personal privacy). Consumers signed on. The MPS fi le size spiked
considerably.
Not so incidentally, a special edition of 50
Simple Things was released by the Natural
Resources Defense Council, which revised
the edition, with the permission of the publisher. “Stop Junk Mail” became “Stop Unwanted Mail” – and moved from No. 1 to No.
17, with an acknowledgement made that environmental groups depend mightily on direct
mail for fundraising and social education.
Fortuitously, direct marketers already had
set a path on getting wise to green business
practices, and nonprofit groups were enfranchised in these efforts. In 1989, the DMA
formed a Board-level Task Force on Environmental Issues, led by Robert Teufel, then CEO
of Rodale Press, to investigate direct marketing’s impact on the environment, and ways
28
we can affect it positively. Craver, Mathews
& Smith were among those in the fundraising
community involved with the Task Force at
the time.
Shortly thereafter, the Task Force’s work
led to the association’s fi rst publication of
the DMA Environmental Resource for Direct
Marketers (now in its third edition), which
sought to identify each step of the direct marketing process – from strategic planning, to
lists and data, to mail design, to paper, to
packaging, to workplace operations, and to
customer education. This was followed by the
DMA Robert Rodale Environmental Achievement Awards – and some of the early honorees,
Seventh Generation, Williams-Sonoma, National Wildlife Federation, LL Bean, the U.S.
Postal Service – provided both benchmarks
for top performance and ground-breaking innovations. For example, early efforts by companies such as Williams-Sonoma helped lead
to a national recycling collection and reuse
program for plastic packaging “peanuts.”
TODAY: ENVIRONMENTAL
PLANNING, VERSION 3.0
In 2007, we now have environment wave
number three. The nation spent the last decade learning and loving the Internet, and
feeling and fighting terror. Yet today, the environment is back in vogue thanks to Al Gore,
pump prices for gas in some cities approaching $4 a gallon, and droughts, hurricanes,
and a string of warm years for the record
books. Perhaps, too, the environment is an
issue around which a polemic world can rally,
instead of tearing each other apart. Certainly the business community has taken notice.
In late March, Fortune magazine announced
that America’s three “Most Admired Companies” – GE, Starbucks, and Toyota – all touted
green business strategies. Environmental
performance is a real motivator for employees, and certainly improves consumer brand
acceptance, even if the verdict is still out on
how much more (if any) people of all incomes
and businesses will pay for “greener” products and services.
Direct marketing, too, is part of the mix.
DMA really never let environmental education of commercial and nonprofit marketers go away. Throughout the 90s and early
2000s, the association kept involved, publishing two subsequent editions of the DMA
Environmental Resource, and staying involved in inter-association groups of paper
manufacturers, print communicators, and
paper users.
ENTER THE DMA
ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING
TOOL ONLINE
In 2005, the DMA formed a standing Committee on the Environment and Social Responsibility, led by Jennifer Barrett of Acxiom
Corporation, with at least one not-for-profit
organization, ConsumersUnion, among its
membership. Its work, in part, has led to the
development of a new tool for the direct marketer’s business planning toolbox, the “DMA
Environmental Planning Tool and Optional
Policy/Vision Statement Generator,” which
I’ll call “the Planner” for short.
Direct marketers – DMA members and
non-members alike -- can access and bookmark the tool at: http://www.the-dma.org/
envgen
In essence, the interactive tool enables
direct marketing professionals in all lines
of business and the nonprofit sector a means
by which to take command of environmental
performance in their own operations, and
to execute internal planning. There are 115
practices listed in five areas: list hygiene and
data management (17 practices); design and
printing (17 practices); paper procurement
and usage (45 practices); packaging (11 practices); and recycling and pollution reduction
in our workplace and community (25 practices). By reviewing the list, checking off confidentially what practices a business undertakes or plans to undertake, saving the list
electronically, printing it, or sharing it inside
a company or marketing team, the Planner
can be employed as an internal assessment
and evaluation tool.
None of these practices – except for those
privacy-related list practices required of
DMA membership for DMA consumer marketing members – are mandates. All of these
practices are considerations that may deliver
benefits in environmental performance, as
identified by the DMA and its Committee. By
using the Planner, an organization can gauge
its practices today, and enable planning, testing, and implementation for practices tomorrow. It can tackle these considerations en
masse, in groups, or perhaps one practice at
a time.
For example, making a commitment to
test and use sustainable forestry-certified paper may be applicable at first to only a small
portion of an organization’s total paper buy.
Maybe it makes sense for an individual group
to begin the dialogue with its paper brokers,
printers, manufacturers, or other paper
sources to see what’s available and affordable in the grades necessary. The initial discussions may lead to an eventual purchase,
which may lead to an eventual commitment
– or it may lead in another direction if an organization, for the moment, finds that supplies of such papers (which represent a small
but growing share of the total paper marketplace) are less than predictable, secure, and
stable.
Other practices may prove to be easier
win/wins. Using lighter-weight papers uses
less fiber and saves on postage, as long as an
organization determines, after testing, that
such papers do not depress response. As in all
matters direct marketing, we have the means
and discipline to test such variables, and the
Planner encourages such testing and flexibility.
In short, the Planner does not ask businesses and organizations to abandon sound
financial decisions in their pursuit of a greener direct marketing process. It offers a path
for a better environmental footprint, and
increased efficiency by suggesting ways to
achieve these mutual objectives.
29
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30
ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING
MADE EASIER
Obviously, not every organization has
the environment as its cause, or is seeking
to be among America’s “most admired,”
but we now have the means for all types of
nonprofit groups to evaluate steps to help
improve the practice of direct marketing
and fundraising from a green perspective. With the Planner, an organization’s
commitment here, version 3.0, is as easy
to investigate, update, and implement as
sliding into faded jeans.
Chet Dalzell is public relations director
for Harte-Hanks, Inc. He also serves as a
member of the DMA Committee on the Environment and Social Responsibility. You can
contact him at 212.520.3232 or via e-mail
at [email protected]. Visit the
Harte-Hanks Web site at http://www.hartehanks.com or call 800.456.9748.
Are You Taking Advantage of
Your Member Benefits?
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Weekly e-News Update
Journal of the DMA Nonprofit Federation
Monthly State Policy Hot Sheet
Free Ads in Nonprofit Careers e-bulletin
Members Only Listserv
The Integrator Blog
Nonprofit Members Only website
Discounted Event Registrations
Recognition Programs
Member Alerts
Action Alerts on Nonprofit Policy Issues
All the Resources of the DMA
Make sure you don’t miss out on any of these benefits!
Contact Senior Manager, Member Services Jill Murphy for
details. Tel: 202.861.2497 or [email protected]
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200 Pemberwick Road, Greenwich, CT 06830 • www.directmedia.com • 203.532.1000
MDS07.indd 1
4/18/07 4:31:20 PM
31
Mark Your Calendar
for these Upcoming Events
August 8-9, 2007
2007 New York Nonprofit Conference
Waldorf-Astoria, New York, NY
Jan 24-25, 2008
2008 Washington Nonprofit Conference
J.W. Marriott - Washington, DC
September 26, 2007
Database Marketing for the Nonprofit
Professional Seminar
Venable, LLP - Washington, DC
October 13-18, 2007
DMA07 Conference & Exhibition
McCormick Place West, Chicago, IL
The Power of Direct
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