The direct mail, door drops and household deliveries showcase
Congratulations! You’ve just found the world’s best and biggest collection of fundraising direct mail, right here on sofii.org. There are more than 160 detailed case histories and articles here for you to learn from, crib from, adapt or copy. And lots more besides. Enjoy!
Click here for the full contents and index for SOFII’s direct mail showcase.
The summary report of the Commission on the Donor Experience into direct mail fundraising can be found here.
The Bruce Barton letters: 22 classic direct mail appeals
by Ken Burnett
If you are new to SOFII, or an old hand, please have a look at some great fundraising letters you’ll love. Written by Bruce Barton over many years, they are priceless examples of the craft of writing fundraising letters.
Read moreBook Aid International: the Reverse Book Club
by SOFII
RBC is just like a normal book club, only its members never receive the books – instead each month four books are sent on each member’s behalf to people in the developing world. Donors love this scheme for its tangible accountability. For a small weekly outlay that most will never miss, they can see what their help is achieving and can readily imagine the impact of their gift, month after month, on small children and struggling students, eager to learn and to work their way out of poverty.
Read moreThe Oxfamily box
by SOFII
Sometimes the simple ideas work best. Oxfam's neat device for involving families in the fight against poverty at Christmas time raised a lot of money and also helped families to put their own good fortune into perspective.
Read moreGreenpeace UK: their cycle of renewal and reactivation mailings – the inertia mailing
by SOFII
The last in this series of renewal and reactivation appeals is the cleverest, we feel. It introduces supporters who have resisted all the other requests in the cycle to the concept of a new and very dangerous threat to the already threatened environment: the donor's own inertia.
Read moreFarm Africa: a thank-you letter and gift
by SOFII
This is just a very nice thank-you letter that is easy to copy, though perhaps it would be best not to do so directly, but rather to adapt the idea behind it in a way that’s distinctive, individual and personal to your cause.
Read moreHelp the Aged ‘...little piece of plastic’ direct mail acquisition pack
by SOFII
More than a year after this classic pack originally appeared on SOFII, its originator, Chris Stoddard, has come forward with the full story.
Read moreDr Barnardo’s Homes: four fundraising greats from the distant past
by SOFII
Dr Thomas Barnardo was one of the Victorian era's great philanthropists. These archive examples of his personal fundraising style and efforts are a unique treasure for the body of fundraising knowledge and best practice.
Read moreThe early Christian Church: Paul the apostle motivates his church’s donors – c. 56 AD
by SOFII
This could be the first ever appeal for regular, committed donors. In the early days of the Christian church the missionary Paul asked his supporters in the city of Corinth to set aside a small portion of their income regularly, to sustain victims of a famine and then later to support good works generally.
Read moreMake–A–Wish Foundation: high value direct mail appeal
by Mal Warwick
The innovative proposal format singles out this interesting, informative and award-winning direct mail pack for special attention on SOFII.
Read moreHannah’s innovative direct mail appeal
by SOFII
Is real talent something you are born with, or can create, if you work at it really hard and smart? At best, we feel, it's a bit of both.
Read moreGreenpeace Australia Pacific: the welcome process
by SOFII
Think objectively about the experience a new donor has within the first few months of joining your organisation. Greenpeace Australia Pacific has developed a new and simplified process to ensure that new donors receive clear communications that both thank and further engage them. The result is that they’re reducing the number of donors who leave within the first three months.
Read moreMith Samlanh Cambodia: the ‘buy a brick’ land campaign
by SOFII
Ah, that great fundraising stalwart, the brick! How a standard product and colourful involvement device saved a splendid children’s home from having to close its doors. This capital campaign encourages individual supporters to ‘buy a brick’ and help Friends International to buy its Mith Samlanh Centre, Phnom Penh.
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