Spot potential direct mail donors using the three Cs of fundraising
By Alan Sharpe
October 1, 2007
What does an ideal new direct mail donor look like? How can you spot one in
a crowd? Or in a list of potential donors? Look for the three Cs.
CAPACITY
The most important measure is a potential donor's capacity to give. Some
development officers trip here, concentrating their energy on wealthy
donors. But in direct mail fundraising, the majority of gifts are small.
Donors don't have to be wealthy, just willing. That's the beauty of
appealing for funds through the mail.
So look for people who are able to give the size of gift you want. Some
apparently wealthy people have zero disposable income. And some apparently
poor people (and some actually poor people) have disposable income. So the
first criteria to look for is not how much money a potential donor has, but
whether the person is able to give away what they have, preferably to you,
of course.
CONNECTION
The second criteria to look for in potential donors is their level of
connection with your organization. Every potential donor fits in here
somewhere on a scale of one to ten. At the high end you have the nice folks who
sit on your board of directors. They are 10s. At the other end of the scale
you have the strangers who know nothing about who you are or what you do or
who you help or where you operate. In the middle you have clients (the
people you serve), volunteers and vendors.
COMMITMENT
Finally, you measure all potential supporters by their level of commitment
to your cause. You can measure commitment by the amount of money that
potential donors give to similar organizations. Or the length of time they
have supported similar initiatives. Or the frequency of their donations
(assuming you can discover such things). Or their level or length of
volunteer service.
An ideal new direct mail donor will be able to give, have a strong
connection with your organization, and feel committed to supporting you.
Some potential donors have the capacity to give but don't know you. Others
know you but are not committed. Whenever you can find people who meet all
three criteria, you will be blessed. And so will they.
Alan Sharpe, copywriter, author and workshop leader, is
president of Raiser Sharpe, the direct mail fundraising
agency that helps nonprofit organizations worldwide to
raise funds and build relationships. Sign up for his free
weekly newsletter: Raiser Sharpe Focus, at www.RaiserSharpe.com.
