Comparing Apples to Oranges to Pomegranates:

1
Comparing Apples to Oranges to Pomegranates A
National Review of Direct Mail, Online and
Multi-Channel Donors
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Key Findings

• Direct Mail Donors Have Been Replenished, While A
  New Group Of Online Givers Has Emerged
• Direct Mail And Internet Donors Are Two Different
  Segments That Inhabit Two Different Universes
• Donors Tend To Be Spontaneous, Flexible, And
  Reactive In Giving
• Donors Value
• Public Education/Grassroots Mobilization
• Accountability For How Money Is Spent
• Demonstrating Real Progress Toward Goals

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Methodology

• Poll of 1,200 National Progressive Donors
• 600 Direct Mail
• 600 Online Donors
• Conducted March 12-20, 2007
• Margin Of Error /- 2.8 Overall Higher For
  Subgroups

4
Direct Mail Donors Have Been Replenished, While A
New Group Of Online Givers Has Emerged
5
Who Are Todays Progressive Donors? How Do They
Compare To Our Base Over A Decade Ago?
1995 Progressive Donors
2007 Progressive Donors
They Are Mostly Women
Gender Is Now Balanced
50
50
They Are Still Well Educated
They Are Well Educated
30 college educated 46 post grad
26 college educated 46 post grad
37
63
More Identify As Strong Partisans And Are
Increasingly Liberal
They Identify As Democrats
84 Democrat (54 strong) 40 very liberal 30
somewhat liberal
79 Democrat (42 strong)
Media Has Changed, Which Has Created New Donor
Channels
They Are Not At The Extreme Liberal End Of The
Ideological Spectrum
25 very liberal 37 somewhat liberal
Direct Mail
Online
6
Rather Than Dying Out, As Seemed Possible In
1995, The Pool Of Direct Mail Donors Has Been
Replenished, Though It Continues To Age Direct
Mail Seems To Be A Lifecycle Phenomenon Its
More Efficacious With Older People
As Explained In 1995
In 2005, more than 2 in 5 of the progressive
donor base will be dead.... It is imperative that
attempts be made to reach out to young
progressives to replenish this critical donor
base.
lt40 years old
40-59 years old
60 years old
7
Direct Mail And Internet Donors Are Two Different
Segments Inhabiting Two Different Universes
8
Online Donors Are Younger, More Educated, And
More Liberal Than Their Direct Mail Counterparts
Religious Attendance
Ideology
Age
Education
Gender
Mean Direct Mail 68 yrs Online 52 yrs
Very Lib Mail 35 Online 45
lib
mod
60
month
male
lt40
40-59
colllt
coll
female
post grad
seldom or less
9
Direct Mail Donors Rely On Traditional Media
Forms, While Online Donors Are Web-Centric
News Sources
Internet Penetration
38 most often
news papers
19
Mean Hours Online Direct Mail
13.4 Online 23.3
14
local tv news
14
cable news
13
online news/ mags
15
35
9
radio
15
friends/ fam
political websites/ blogs
12
DK
Direct Mail
Online
other
home
both home work
work
no access
10
Direct Mail Donors Rely On Offline Sources,
Including Earned Media, To Learn About
Organizations, Whereas Online Donors Rely On
Email And Websites
Which of the following is the way you MOST OFTEN
find out about a progressive organization to
which you make a contribution? Second most?
Online Donors
Direct Mail Donors
newsp/mag article
27 most often
12
direct mail
25
10
news/tv segment
18
advertisement
7
word of mouth
7
7
email from org
40 most often
org website
11
online blog
Dem party website
dont know
11
Three Quarters Of Online Donors Contribute Online
Consistently, While Nearly The Same Proportion Of
Mail Donors Are Consistently Offline
Which of the following methods do you use when
making financial contributions to progressive
organizations?
Online Donors
Direct Mail Donors
Send a check in response to mail
Pledge on phone
Attend event
Donate online in response to email
Browse a website
Donate online in response to blog email
Click on banner
Other
dont know
12
Online Donors Make Most Of Their Contributions
That Way, While Mail Donors Do Not
Overall, what percent of your financial
contributions to political or progressive
organizations do you make online?
Online Donors
Direct Mail Donors
Dont know
Dont know
0-25
76- 100
76- 100
51- 75
26- 50
0-25
26- 50
51- 75
13
A Substantial Minority Of Online Donors Will
Forward Email To Encourage Others To Donate Few
Direct Mail Donors Will Do So
How likely would you be to forward an email from
a political or progressive organization to
encourage others to make a financial contribution
online?
Direct Mail
Online
11
29
6
59
Likely
Unlikely
Dont know
14
Though Convenience Was The Most Important Reason
To Donate Online, It Is About Much More Than That
Ranked by one of the most important
Giving online is more convenient
I could use my credit card
I followed a link that was sent to me by an
organization I trust
I browsed the organizations website before I
made a contribution
I could donate the moment the thought hit me
The money would get there faster than through a
phone or mail donation
15
Donors Tend To Be Spontaneous, Flexible, And
Reactive In Giving
16
Most Contributors Donate Because They Were Asked
In A Piece Of Mail Or Email Responses To Events,
Phone Calls Or Banner Ads Are Much Less Common
Which of the following methods do you use when
making financial contributions to progressive
organizations? multiple responses accepted
Which one method do you use most often when
making financial contributions?
Sending a check, in response to a mailing from a
candidate or organization
26 most often
Donating online, in response to an email from a
candidate or organization
31
Browsing an organizations website and making an
online contribution
12
Donating online, in response to an email from a
blog or an online community
9
Making a pledge over the telephone
9
Attending a fundraising event
6
Clicking on an online banner advertisement to
contribute
Other
Dont know
17
A Majority Of Progressive Donors, Including The
Largest, Have No Set Budget For Their Financial
Contributions
Do you have a budget when deciding the total
amount of financial contributions that you make
to progressive organizations, political
candidates, and political parties in a typical
year?
Yes
No
18
Donors, Especially Those Online, Prefer To Be
Flexible In Making Contributions
I carefully plan out my donations each year in
advance. I know what organizations I will donate
to and how much I will give.
I tend to strike a balance between planning out
my financial contributions to organizations and
being flexible and spontaneous in responding to
requests
I am very open-minded when it comes to deciding
which organization to donate to and how much to
give.
12 strong
28 strong
28 strong
(darker shadingstronger intensity)
19
Donors Value Public Education/Grassroots
Mobilization Accountability For How Money Is
Spent Demonstrating Real Progress Toward Goals
20
Donors Prioritize Education And Grassroots
Advocacy Over Lobbying Congress Or Suing In Court
To which of the following progressive
organizations would you be most likely to
contribute to this year?
educating the public about progressive issues
working at the grassroots level to develop
support for progressive policies
encouraging Pres. candidates to commit to clear
stances on issues impt to the progressive comm.
lobbying Congress to pass progressive legislation
lobbying Congress to block Bushs agenda
challenging the legality of right wing
legislation in federal courts
blocking radical judicial appointments to federal
courts
Dont know
21
Donors Want To Support Groups That Educate The
Public, Spend Money On Programs Not Overhead, And
Demonstrate Real Progress
Ranked by absolutely essential
Mean
Do more to educate the broader public instead of
just their own donors
Describe what percentage of the money goes to
overhead vs. real programs
Demonstrate that they are making real progress on
their goals
Explain more clearly exactly how the they
collect is being spent, showing a track record
Keep their issues visible through television,
radio, newspapers or other media
Be more accountable to donors regarding how they
spend contributions
Provide news updates that give you the latest
information on the cause
Offer more opportunities besides contributing,
for people to become involved
Works on issues that have a direct impact on your
community
Provide reviews of the org from outside sources
like trusted progressive bloggers and indp
auditors
Offer more convenient ways to make contributions
or donations
Create an online community where like-minded
people can communicate directly with each other
22
Online Donors Emphasize Broad Outreach, While
Direct Mail Donors Prioritize Accountability To
Maintain Support
23
While A Majority Feel They Know Where Their Money
Goes, Few Are Certain Large Donors Are Most
Confident
When you think about the money you contribute to
progressive organizations, do you feel as though
you know a great deal about where your money
goes, something about where your money goes, not
too much or not much at all about where your
money goes?
18 Great deal
Know where
Dont know where
Dont know
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Lessons Learned Strategic Implications For
Non-profit Fundraising
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Donors Are Searching For Organizations With Real
Accomplishments And Genuine Accountability

• 74 Want More Accountability
• 79 Want Broader Public Education
• 75 Want You To Keep Issues Visible
• 80 Want/Demand Financial Transparency

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Reports Of The Death Of Direct Mail Fundraising
Were Greatly Exaggerated

• The Fundraising World in 1994 and Today
• Lifestyle Issue Not a Generational Issue

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Multi-ChannelMarketing Opportunities

• Online and Direct Mail Donors You will not get
  both kinds of donors unless you engage in both
  kinds of marketing.
• Break Down Fundraising Silos Donors have a lot
  in common.
• Synergism and Integration can expand donors
  horizons and make them Multi-Channel donors.

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Lessons From Campaign 2008
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How To Get Single-Channel Donors To Jump To
Multi-channel Contributors

• No Stone Unturned
• Timing is Everything
• Every Risk Has Its Reward
• Dont Treat Potential Multi-Channel Donors Like
  Direct Mail Donors
• Graphics
• Personalization
• Message Discipline / Message Consistency
• Spontaneous / Event-Centered
• Opportunities Dedicated URLs, 800s, Mail-In
  Donor Forms

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Secondary Channel Donations forOnline Acquired
Donors
Online acquired donors most often choose direct
mail as secondary channel.
31
Secondary Channel Donations forTelemarketing
Acquired Donors
Direct mail is the secondary channel of choice
for telemarketing acquired donors.
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Secondary Channel Donations forDirect Mail
Acquired Donors
Online is the secondary channel of choice for
direct mail acquired donors.
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