One of the most important gifts I'm celebrating this holiday season are the things I didn't get: many, many pounds of junk mail catalogs, many of them duplicates. And, it's accomplished through a great social venture: GreenDimes , whose motto is Stop Junk Mail. Save Trees and Help the Environment Greendimes automates the process of taking yourself off of mailing lists with a simple web application. So, the Greendimes folks mailed us the postcards to sign and send in. MORE

He recently vowed that he would no longer fundraise for candidates who don’t allow people to opt out of snail mail appeals with their online gift: It really is infuriating. I blame direct mail consultants who charge per piece sent. MORE

In the next five years, money spent annually on direct mail will decline by as much as 40%, from $49.7 “Direct mail has begun spiraling into what we believe is a precipitous decline from which it will never fully recover," said Borrell. junk mail,&# Ball said. MORE

Are you leading an organization where e-mail communication is ineffective? Here are some wise guidelines that Verizon Wireless has used to promote effective, efficient and responsible e-mail use within its company. E-mail should bring closure to work , not create more work. MORE

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Proposed: I am NOT writing direct mail to tell “a” story. ” For the full article, visit Ahern Donor Communications >> The post How to Write a Healthy Direct Mail Appeal appeared first on Nonprofit Hub Tom Ahern is a guest contributor for Nonprofit Hub. MORE

Charity Hopes To Net Benefit (from Oxford Mail): "The online operation, launched on Friday, will run alongside traditional sales in the high street - and stores in Wallingford and Thame are the first two in the county to take part MORE

AFP > Resource Center | Fundraising news > 'Isn’t Email Just Like Regular Direct Mail—But on Steroids?': "Isn’t Email Just Like Regular Direct Mail—But on Steroids?' By Harry Lynch(July 21, 2008) It’s been a while since a nonprofit executive asked me that question, but it still makes me smile. And groan a little too.The myths and confusion engulfing email only seem to proliferate with each MORE

Disable mail field description (it was no longer applicable to the registration logic). form['#submit'] : array($form['#submit']); $form['#submit'][] = 'bf_registration_form_register_submit'; // Make mail field not required. form['account']['mail']['#required'] = FALSE; // Change email and telephone fields to HTML5 types (this requires the entity module). array_unshift($form['#validate'],'bf_registration_form_register_validate'); // Remove description from mail field. MORE

This is the second of a two-part technical post. We are examining Drupal architecture and custom code used in a Beaconfire project. See part 1 here. In part 1 we prepared the login and registration forms for our new authentication method. MORE

Snail Mail Still Works for Thank You Letters : Do you send a thank you letter by mail after receiving a donation online? Of course, the donor who gives online (and there are more of them all the time), does receive an immediate emailed thank you. That is built into the online donation system, whichever one you use. npOnline NPThankYouLetters MORE

60) Search « Social Media Webinar on June 10th | Main | Is Direct Mail Really Headed for the Exit? » Sunday May 31 2009 Is Direct Mail Dying or Dead? 2) No one knows with any degree of precision how much money is raised each year via direct mail. Is Direct Mail dead? MORE

With that great online success, does direct mail still have a future in fundraising? Research shows that direct mail is alive and well and has an important fundraising future. What is changing is the centrality of direct mail to the marketing mix. While Matures rely on direct mail, 77%, as their primary giving channel, only 54% of Boomers, 43% of Gen X and 26% of Gen Y report giving through the channel. Author: Tad Druart. MORE

For starters, I’m addressing this question on the basis of 30 years in direct mail fundraising and 15 years in fundraising online. Tags: Direct Mail Online Fundraising My, my. MORE

Now it’s time to build a direct mail piece that has the same outcome. But even if you have the best offer, there’s much more that goes into a direct mail piece to make it effective. Step One: Understand Direct Mail. What other questions do you have about direct mail appeals? MORE

See Dick microfinance - The Globe and Mail: "An associated website, onehen.org, is a virtual marketplace for easy-to-understand microfinancing. Participants play interactive games that earn them beads, which they 'lend' to various Third World entrepreneurs, whose stories are also featured MORE

Homeless people turned into walking wi-fi hotspots at $2 per 15 minutes at SXSW | Mail Online : A marketing stunt where homeless people were turned into walking internet hotspots with T-shirts proclaiming 'I'm a 4G hotspot' has caused outcry in Texas. MORE

All Blackbaud Blogs Contact Us Blackbaud.com About Nonprofit Trends Books Research Reports Speaking Just When You Thought Direct Mail Was Dead Posted by Steve MacLaughlin on November 10th, 2010 It’s baaack! You thought direct mail was dead but it has returned. 37% of respondents said that they respond using the charity’s website when they get a fundraising letter in the mail. 53% said they still respond to mail by using the mail. MORE

Company Ban on Friday Internal E-mails Still Working: "Company Ban on Friday Internal E-mails Still Working By Kathy Gurchiek Not sending or responding to internal e-mail may sound like crazy talk, but it’s a concept that continues to work more than a year after PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services introduced “no e-mail Fridays” in June 2006. MORE

Direct Mail in a Digital World - Resource Center - AFP: "By Jonathon Grapsas(June 8, 2010) It's easy to get caught up in the digital hype. We're now used to hearing terms like click through's and impressions as frequently as response rates and average gifts.Surely there's enough data now to finally forego four page letters and move across completely to the online space. Perhaps it's time to MORE

While the ultimate outcome is unclear, here are some thoughts on the impact of the loss of Saturday mail delivery for nonprofits. Acquisition Fundraising Membership direct mail direct mail fundraising United States Postal Service MORE

60) Search « Is Direct Mail Dying or Dead? Main | The ROI of Social Media » Friday May 29 2009 Is Direct Mail Really Headed for the Exit? The younger generation seems to prefer to donate online, rather than through the mail. junk mail,” Ball said. MORE

Tips for Using the Web, E-mail and Social Networking to Net Wired Wealthy Donors : By Abny Santicola : FundRaising Success: "In the session 'Taking Leadership Online: What's Hype and What Works in Online Fundraising' at Fund Raising Day in New York 2009 presented by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater New York Chapter in early June, presenters Nancy Haitch, deputy vice president MORE

I think I’m getting old. I LOVE these “history of” infographics, can’t help myself. This one’s h/t Wyzowl via Instiller. ———-. photo credit ). Cool Infographic Friday MORE

A direct mail asset can be awesome for building an email list or a Facebook fanbase -if you’re smart about using it… Should You Convert Your Direct Mail List To Email Subscribers or Facebook Fans? The benefit of e-mail is that you know that most of your messages are getting delivered (whether they’re opened or not is another matter). With e-mail, someone has to enter their name and e-mail into a form, and grant access into their inbox. MORE

revolution - The Globe and Mail: "Tiny non-profits like GuluWalk have been some of the biggest winners in the Web 2.0 Charities finally cashing in on Web 2.0 revolution, but online fundraising is growing in importance for charities of all sizes. While only about 10 per cent of Canadians have donated online to date, according to a study by Ipsos Reid, that's up dramatically from the 4 per cent who. NPtech MORE

Want to learn more about personalizing your text messages using mail merge? We’re all familiar with getting form letters and emails that are addressed to us personally. For example, “Dear Benjamin, we have a special offer for you.&# But did you know you can do that with your text messages too? When composing outgoing text message in Mobile Commons, you can add special characters to the message and it will automatically be merged with the recipients personalized information. MORE

Direct mail is a major workhorse for all nonprofits. And regardless of what you hear or think about online giving, most gifts still come via the mail. This week guest blogger Gail Perry is back with her top tips to help us all raise more money by mail. MORE

Are you leading an organization where e-mail communication is ineffective? Here are some wise guidelines that Verizon Wireless has used to promote effective, efficient and responsible e-mail use within its company. E-mail should bring closure to work , not create more work. MORE

» The twilight of direct mail? Posted Thursday, July 24th, 2008 at 4:46 pm by John Brian (91 posts) On a recent trip to my mailbox, I was shocked to see a direct mail solicitation from Barack Obama’s campaign. 2 Responses to “The twilight of direct mail?&# MORE

The post List-Pulling Worksheet: Download for Your Next Mailing appeared first on Nonprofit Hub. Your manager called—she wants a list from you for the next big fundraising campaign. As far as details, that’s about all you’ve been given. Sound familiar? MORE

On Sunday the cost of sending mail via the US Postal System goes up ( see exactly how much ). Certainly for those of us mailing things, this is a bummer but it doesn't mean we should stop our mailing efforts. Below is the first in a series of posts we'll be running here on Connection Cafe to help make your direct mail efforts more effective. Direct Mail + Internet = Integrated Success. Consider designing your direct mail with the following in mind: 1. MORE

Thousands ‘like’ idea  Anderson Independent Mail : hat compulsion to communicate, check in and comment was good news for organ donation registries around the country, as many reported new donors signing up in record numbers via the new Facebook feature we told you about earlier this week. MORE

Direct mail seems to be a common way for nonprofits to promote their events and fundraisers. Who is receiving the direct-mail piece? Once you know who will be receiving the direct-mail piece, you can better understand what messaging will encourage action. MORE

Is direct mail still relevant in our digital age? Here are some tips on integrating direct mail and online strategies. direct mail online strategy Non-profit Communications MORE

Here are some wise guidelines that Verizon Wireless has used to promote effective, efficient and responsible e-mail use within its company. E-mail should bring closure to work , not create more work. Keep e-mails short. Never send e-mail when you're angry. MORE

Proposed: I am NOT writing direct mail to tell “a” story. ” For the full article, visit Ahern Donor Communications >> The post How to Write a Healthy Direct Mail Appeal appeared first on Nonprofit Hub. Tom Ahern is a guest contributor for Nonprofit Hub. MORE

Those interruptions come from e-mail alerts, instant messages, cell phones and handheld devices that constantly buzz. The typical employee also checks e-mail dozens and dozens of times a day. Try these techniques: Turn off all visual and sound alerts that announce new e-mail. MORE

Our CEO, Jed Alpert, spoke to American Express OpenForum about how a mobile campaign can improve your direct mail outreach. Direct mail marketing has been a staple tool for small businesses for decades. But a mobile campaign can achieve many of the same results as Direct Mail – for less money and with more measurable results. While a mobile campaign can serve many of the functions of direct mail, we don’t actually recommend that you replace your outreach. MORE

News1130 - ALL NEWS RADIO: "Some users say e-mail starting to flow after RIM BlackBerry e-mail failureApril 18, 2007 - 6:11 amBy: DAVID FRIENDTORONTO (CP) - BlackBerry users could slowly start to receive a backlog of e-mails this morning as the company tries to return its servers to normal after an outage brought them to a screeching halt.A massive system failure blocked BlackBerry e-mail for. MORE

End of the e-mail era? The Wall Street Journal has declared that e-mail's reign is over. I'm not buying it - National voices - MercedSun-Star.com: "don't know about you, but I'm overwhelmed by e-mail.Yes, I know. It's supposedly being replaced by technologies such as instant messaging, social networking and Twitter MORE

In today’s digital age, it might seem somewhat nostalgic to talk about direct mail. While it’s tempting to default to cost effective communication channels like email and Facebook, direct mail is still very much in play. Today, direct mail continues to be an effective way to prompt donors to take action. You started out in direct mail almost 17 years ago. As conventional wisdom had it, mail out as much as you can to as many people as you can to maximize your returns. MORE

With the postage increase looming, you may be looking for opportunities to reduce your mail stream without reducing your net income. You might say ‘impossible’ but I am here to tell you that through the use of data analytics, nonprofit professionals can improve their segmentation strategy, reduce mail, increase return on investment and improve relations with donors. Many nonprofits use the RFM selection strategy in order to identify whom to mail for a certain appeal. MORE