We believe the areas for the greatest fundraising growth today are: major donors, planned giving, and monthly giving. To a large extent, success in these areas depends upon having a large donor base, which for most nonprofits is driven by direct mail.

Our belief is that all organizations need to use the mail to communicate with their donors and to maximize the amount of money they raise. This is true even for organizations that acquire their donors through special events, door-to-door canvas or any other form. It is simply the most cost-effective way to go back to people over and over again. Tens of thousands of organizations have demonstrated that direct mail is highly lucrative over the long term.

It is important to emphasize that the great value of direct mail is in the long term –- you have to invest money in the short term. Think of direct mail as a small business where the goal is to acquire new customers. Frequently you need to invest funds to support yourself while you build your customer base. But, once you build a loyal list of customers who come back and use your services month after month, or year after year, you become successful because repeat customers are the way to build long-term profits.