Fundraisers and nonprofit marketers take note… direct mail fundraising is far from dead. In fact, its assumed death is premature and won’t begin to occur until the year 2030!
That’s the conclusion The Agitator made in its recent post, “New Era Begins In 17 Years.” It’s also what Jeff Brooks underscores in his recent post, “When will the direct mail fundraising era be over?”
Based on actual Blackbaud statistics of 2013 online fundraising growth rates (not crystal ball predictions), the formula works like this:
The growth rate in online fundraising in the US during 2013 was 13.5%. If 13.5% is sustained and compounded each year, we can track its growth until it reaches 50% of all fundraising revenue.
Even if online fundraising activity grows at a quicker pace, we still aren’t going to see the demise of direct mail fundraising for a long while. Many of us will be retired by then.
The important point is this: We are not yet in the online era. Direct mail is still the king of fundraising. If you are serious about raising funds, you need to be serious about direct mail. And it’s going to be that way for a while.”
Jeff Brooks, Future Fundraising Now
If you’re a professional or volunteer fundraiser or nonprofit marketer, is your organization still using direct mail as part of its fundraising mix? How are the results versus online fundraising?
