Inspi­ra­tion from Canada

A selec­tion of tru­ly great direct mail from Canada.

Written by
SOFII Contributors
Added
August 31, 2018

In the South Park movie Kyle’s mother encouraged us all to blame Canada for the various ills of the world, but we here at SOFII will do no such thing. The land of mounties, poutine and Vancouver (sorry Toronto fans) is a veritable font of fundraising greatness, as this section of the direct mail showcase proves.

* indicates really great use of direct mail. Please nominate your choice/ choices of great fundraising direct mail by posting a comment in the comments box below each exhibit. You’ll be helping other fundraisers when you do.

  • Ontario Nature: ‘Ruby the hummingbird’ mailing.*   
  • The Victorian Order of Nurses for Canada (VON Canada) 2014 report to donors.
  • Toronto Humane Society’s ‘Benjamin’ year-end mailing.
  • Oxfam Canada: the ‘threads of change’ campaign.
  • CHATS: the Norooz letter, in Farsi.
  • Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation: 2008 progress report.
  • Humber River Hospital Foundation’s direct mail appeal featuring Humbert.
  • ‘Humbert’ heartfelt message appeal.
  • St Michael’s Hospital Foundation: data-based planned giving campaign delivers heavenly results.
  • Canadian Diabetes Association: Diabetes Summer Surge Campaign.
  • Ontario Nature: ‘Ruby the hummingbird’ mailing.
  • Interval House: the gratitude report.
  • Goderich medical clinic campaign.
  • Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation: Wings of Hope appeal.
  • WWF Canada: new donor questionnaire. *
  • Lawrence Park Community Church: appeal for a sign.
  • Children’s Wish Foundation: the power of a story.
  • Nature Conservancy of Canada: legacy mailing.

  • You can return to the main direct mail showcase page here.

    About the author: SOFII Contributors

    This article was contributed to by many wonderful friends of SOFII. If you would like to add your voice to this or any other SOFII section, please e-mail joe@sofii.org.

    Recent Articles

    From the Myth Smashers: We can’t ask new patients to donate, or can we?

    Saarah Abdeen discusses the assumption that fundraisers shouldn’t ask new patients to donate. Keep reading and discover the personal experiences that got Saarah thinking about how and why we should finally smash this myth.

    Read more

    Open Letter to Tom Ralser re: The fallacy of ‘facts tell, stories sell’

    Claire Axelrad responds to Tom Ralser’s opinion piece with an open letter. In it, Claire shares her perspective on storytelling, as a writer and fundraiser.

    Read more

    Matched funding challenge boosts Ken Burnett’s latest 500-mile quest

    Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Chip Grizzard, the first £7,500 Ken raises will now be doubled! Could you help Ken reach his goal and raise even more for SOFII?

    Read more

    The fallacy of ‘facts tell, stories sell’

    In a new addition to SOFII’s Opinions and Debates showcase, Tom Ralser shares his view on the notion that ‘facts tell, stories sell’. When it comes to fundraising, Tom feels that relying on stories alone isn’t always enough to create a great appeal AND convince your donor to give. 

    Read more

    Can fundraisers tell the difference between AI and human-written thank you letters?

    Surprising survey results show that AI letters were rated higher by fundraisers than human-written letters. 

    Read more

    Also in Categories

    
      

    Tags

    

    Share