Trea­sures from SOFII’s archives

Dive into SOFII’s trea­sures from direct mail cam­paigns from decades past.

Written by
SOFII Contributors
Added
August 31, 2018

Worth more than its weight in gold: SOFII’s direct mail treasure trove

We’re sitting on a mine of precious fundraising ore here at SOFII and in this section of the direct mail showcase we shine a light on some of the brightest gems of direct mail fundraising from our archive.

* 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.

  • Eihei Dogen fundraising letter: from 1235.* Is this the earliest true direct mail fundraising letter?
  • United Negro College Fund: David Ogilvy’s letter.
  • Charter 88: the ‘buy-out’ letter.
  • Great Ormond Street Hospital: Christmas mailing, from 1941.
  • Harvard University: how Harvard got its name. Major gift fundraising in the seventeenth century.
  • Dr Barnardo’s Homes: how the death of Carrots led to a powerful slogan, from 1866.
  • Founding of the British Red Cross: a spectacular result from a letter to a national newspaper, 1870.
  • Deerfield Academy: the Bruce Barton classic long copy letter from 1925 that pulled a 100 per cent response.*
  • Deerfield Academy: Bruce Barton’s fundraising letters from the 1940s, letters 1 to 22. Follow the links for all eleven of these brilliant exhibits.*
  • Jesse Jackson’s bid for the White House, 1988.
  • The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade: minute regarding the need for fundraising from 1788.
  • Dr Barnardo’s Homes: four fundraising greats from the distant past.
  • The early Christian Church: St Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.
  • The early Christian Church: Paul the apostle motivates his church’s donors – c. 56 AD. * Two exhibits on the origins of Christian giving.
  • Albert Street Methodist Sunday School: the foot of pennies from the 1930s.

    • 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.

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