Despite greatly exaggerated claims of its impending demise, direct mail remains by a long way the fundraiser’s preferred method of getting and keeping in touch with supporters, perhaps less than in the past for acquisition, but increasingly for donor relationship building and development.

Now with new regulations designed to put donors in control of their data there’s an emerging opportunity for fundraisers to put best-quality data management at the heart of donor communication strategies. Fundraisers’ legitimate interest to communicate with all supporters via direct mail seems set to ensure that this most potent of fundraising’s tools will be given renewed importance in coming years.

After all, who doesn't love to get a really great letter, bursting with impact and energy, telling with power and passion a gripping, moving story of how you can easily, effectively make a lasting difference to an issue you care deeply about? Wouldn't your heart soar to receive such a thing?

That's why direct mail works so well, for new donors as well as established friends.

In this special showcase SOFII readers will find literally hundreds of detailed examples of direct mail, showing what works and what doesn’t. Including SOFII Stars, highlighting some of the world’s best. Also look out for brilliant direct mail from 800 years ago. Plus Lisa Sargent’s thank-you letter clinics.  And don’t miss Jerry Huntsinger’s 55 special tutorials on how to make direct mail work for you.

* 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.

The best of direct mail*

• Ryton Gardens: recyclable mailing. *
• CPAR: ‘plant a tree in Ethiopia’ mailing. *
• Greenpeace’s ‘Stop Thorp’ campaign court case mailing. *  With the £250,000 tick box.
• The National Asthma Campaign: straws mailing. *
• Amnesty International: the pen pack. *
• Amnesty International: the letter in the pen pack. *
• Help the Aged: ‘you have this gift’ direct mail pack. *
• Help the Aged ‘…little piece of plastic’ direct mail acquisition pack. A different, perhaps earlier version of this classic pack.
• How I wrote it: the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s prospect letter. *
• Book Aid International: the Reverse Book Club. * The concept that inspired the creation of SOFII.
• British Heart Foundation: the ‘calculate the cost of heart disease’ mailing. *
• ISRT thank-you and welcome letter. *
• Operation Raleigh: toilet paper mailing. *
• Botton Village: giving donors choices. *
• Botton Village ‘Frances’ pack. *
• Muscular Dystrophy Group: envelope test. *
• Dogs Trust: sponsor a dog. *

Treasures from SOFII’s archives

• 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.

Articles about direct mail

• Lisa Sargent’s direct mail thank-you letter clinic. How to write a better thank-you letter (and why it matters) 
• SOFII announces the return of the thank-you letter clinic
• In lieu of flowers: how to write lively memorial donation thank-you letters
• Chinese take away: reinventing fundraising in the People’s Republic of China. Daryl Upsall.
• Let’s keep in touch. About losing your donors needlessly. Rachel Hunnybun.
• Everything you need to know about the annual appeal letter. Made easy. Tom Ahern and Jay Love. This is a treasure. Really.
• A profile of Mal Warwick: America’s genial guru of fundraising direct mail. Jerry Huntsinger: 80-years young. Your route in to Jerry’s 55 tutorials, the detailed fundamentals of direct mail fundraising.
• Musings of a direct response fundraiser no. 1: revisiting the basics. Jonathon Grapsas.
• Musings of a direct response fundraiser no. 2: finding the ‘sweet spot’. Jonathon Grapsas.
• Reader knowledge, real voices, great stories and big points of view. Liz Loudon.
• How to really understand fundraising’s reigning big idea, direct mail. Mal Warwick’s classic book reviewed by Jan Chisholm.

‘How I wrote it’ series. Focusing on the craft of direct mail letter-writing

• How I wrote it: the NSPCC’s Simple pack.
• How I wrote it: the Amnesty pen letter. The story of a true classic.
• How I wrote it: the Salvation Army UK’s first large-scale cold mailing.
• How I wrote it: Mal Warwick on his letter for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
• How I wrote it: Jules Brown talks about the Women’s Aid fundraising letter.
• How I wrote it: Alan Sharpe’s War Child fundraising letter.
• How I wrote it: the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s prospect letter. *
• How I wrote it: the Starlight Children’s Foundation emergency appeal.
• How I wrote it: the ActionAid iguana letter.
• How I wrote it: the Sharp HospiceCare conversion letter. 

Chosen because they’re classics of direct mail, really, all of the above deserve a *. Or do you disagree? If so, please leave a comment below or e-mail joe@sofii.org to contribute your thoughts in more detail.

Thank-you mailings

• NSPCC’s thank-you mailing.
• Farm Africa: a thank-you letter and gift.
• Greenpeace Australia Pacific: the welcome process.
• Greenpeace UK: their cycle of renewal and reactivation mailings, the ‘countdown’ and ‘please and thank-you’ packs. *
• ISRT thank-you and welcome letter.

See also Lisa Sargent’s direct mail thank-you letter clinics, above.

Direct mail from the Higher Education sector

• University of Leeds: the calendar appeal.
• University of Leeds: direct mail cash appeal to alumni.
• University of South Carolina: ‘We are South Carolina Y’ALL’ (Young Alumni Leaving a Legacy).
• University of Leeds: the memories appeal.
• University College London: the ‘paper head’ Christmas appeal.
• Harvard University: how Harvard got its name. Major gift fundraising in the seventeenth century.
• University of Oxford: legacy brochure.

Direct mail from Canada

• 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.

Direct mail from the USA

• The Children’s Center, Detroit: ‘children should be seen and not hurt’ winter appeal.
• Audubon Society of Rhode Island: special recognition of long-time donors.
• AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons): legacies booklet and newsletter.
• Ocean Conservancy: membership drive.
• McPherson Associates/ WPBT2: the ‘surprise us’ tick box.
• Fund for a Free South Africa: high value mailing.
• Make–A–Wish Foundation: high value direct mail appeal.
• Steel Yard: ‘fund a day’ appeal.
• The National Park Foundation: ‘Plan for Parks’ mini-proposal.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Hungary mailing.
• HomeFront’s virtual gala: ‘Don’t Save the Date. Just Save the World.
• Southern Poverty Law Center: Partners for the Future legacy letter and brochure.
• Common Cause Citizen’s Committee: major donor upgrade.
• The National Campaign for Tolerance: The Wall of Tolerance appeal.
• Longwood Gardens direct mail membership acquisition pack.
• Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Alliance: emergency appeal for cash.
• Nature Conservancy: launch of their Science Council.
• International Campaign for Tibet Freedom: bracelet appeal.
• NARAL Leadership Circle: membership renewal.

Direct mail from the UK

• Friends of the Earth steadying the ship: looking after your supporters when a media storm hits.*
• RSPB: a letter to the future. *
• Save the Children’s capital appeal: buy a brick.
• WWF: Year of the Tiger Christmas appeal.
• Shelter’s Joan and Rudy pack: a pet dog helps homeless old people.
• EveryChild Gift Aid ‘mop-up’ campaign.
• Breakthrough Breast Cancer: ‘touch look check’ campaign.
• Friends of the Earth: the Bee Cause.
• The Salvation Army: Christopher’s letter.
• The Zimbabwe Association: emergency appeal.
• WSPA: the ‘big bear build’ and ‘big bear rescue’ appeals.
• Action on Hearing Loss: put a gift in your will.
• SolarAid: ‘spread the light’ campaign.
• Parkinson’s UK: the Dave the Worm campaign.
• Sense’s magical Christmas: a special appeal from Teddy.
• Cancer Research UK: the letter from cancer.
• RNLI: train one, save many campaign.
• The Salvation Army: UK Christmas appeal.
• Wood Green Animal Shelters: urgent £3 food appeal.
• St Dunstan’s: help blind heroes interactive acquisition campaign.
• Jewish Care: the Post-it note campaign.
• WaterAid’s plastic bag mailing.*
• Association of International Cancer Research: Inspiring Stories Book.
• The Wishing Well Appeal for Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital.*
• British Red Cross: the £7.7 billion appeal that changed British fundraising forever. *
• BookAid’s Reverse Book Club cold acquisition pack: Books change lives.
• Centrepoint ‘sponsor a room’: donor acquisition.*
• The Oxfamily box.
• Greenpeace UK: their cycle of renewal and reactivation mailings, the ‘countdown’ and ‘please and thank-you’ packs. *
• Greenpeace UK: their cycle of renewal and reactivation mailings – the inertia mailing. *
• Greenpeace UK’s ‘forget it’ pack reactivation mailings. *
• Hannah’s innovative direct mail appeal. Creative letter-writing from a seven-year-old.
• Woman’s Royal Voluntary Service: face-to-face postcard.
• Soil Association: membership development.
• Habitat for Humanity: money back guarantee. *
• Mencap: Christmas appeal.
• Womankind Worldwide: donor recruitment mailing.
• Greenpeace Frontline: launch of a high level monthly giving scheme. *
• THE PLAN: the launch of child sponsorship, Spain 1937. *

Direct mail from Europe

• Trócaire - September direct mail campaign 2017.
• Cesvi ‘thank-you’ campaign.
• Arrels Fundació: cardboard hearts for the homeless.
• HEKS charity shop Switzerland: virtual but not traditional gifts.
• WWF Hungary: ‘Don’t let Danube’s wildlife be destroyed’ campaign.

Direct mail from Africa and Asia

• CPAR: ‘plant a tree in Ethiopia’ mailing.
• The Children’s Hospital Trust operating theatre complex campaign.
• Mith Samlanh Cambodia: the ‘buy a brick’ land campaign.
• Eihei Dogen fundraising letter: from 1235. *

Direct mail from Australia and New Zealand

• Centennial Parklands Foundation Transplant Appeal.
• The Royal Flying Doctor Service, Victoria: direct mail to buy a jet.
• Guide Dogs NSW/ACT*: ‘tea for two’ appeal.
• Seeing Eyes for Blind People: sponsor a puppy who’ll grow into a seeing eye dog.
• Greenpeace Australia Pacific: the welcome process.
• Australian Conservation Foundation: end of year appeal.
• Médecins sans Frontières: ‘field partners’.
• The Lost Dogs’ Home, Melbourne: direct mail acquisition.*
• RSPCA New South Wales: project Guardian Angel.

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