Thanks to "Good Friends Like You"- Direct Mailing from a Nonfprofit

Its a phrase we've all grown up hearing with the predominantly educational television network PBS, but many nonprofits utilize phrases such as "viewers like you" or "good friends like you" when trying to appeal to donors. The fundraising is a never ending circle: in order to raise the funds organizations need to continue doing good works and functioning, nonprofits have to find and utilize a variety of ways to reach out to their potential donors. When presented with the task of reviewing some of these direct mailers from nonprofits, I chose to look into Habitat for Humanity.

Coming from an active volunteering background, I was very familiar with the works of Habitat before delving into the stack of mail from the organization and had to challenge myself to look at the materials from a fresh point of view. While the Habitat letters I looked at had both pros and cons to their layout and techniques, these are just a few of my favorites.

At first glance we naturally inspect the exterior and the envelopes of these "plea" letters were all incorporated into the overarching goal of Habitat (building homes for families in need) in some way. Through the use of a phrase or the image of a hammer, the envelopes already gave the receiving audience and idea of what they were getting themselves into.

One of the letters received with a human
interest story woven into it.

I opened about 10-15 letters that were mailed this particular donor and while each one varied slightly, there was a common pattern that each one utilized to incorporate a story of someone helped by the good works of Habitat for Humanity. It would begin with a personalized, first-name greeting and then move into a brief message about the works of Habitat and why it was so important. Once that was out of the way, the human interest story would come into play and weave its way throughout the remainder of the letter. I read about families from all over the place including Florida, North Texas and Minnesota and each one brought about the understanding that every family should have the right to a safe and secure place to call home (a universal theme that most people can relate to and understand the importance of). After introducing a real person to the reader and making the organization a reality, Habitat took the opportunity to include some numbers to reinforce the importance of donating to this cause as well as "asking" for a donation (see image below). It may have been due to the previous donations of the individual this mail came from, but all of the letters offered the same three numbers for donations- $120, $180 or $240.

Habitat was very consistent in their letter format and technique in asking for donations, but they were also very good about including incentives/easier ways to donate for the person receiving the letter. Included in many of the envelopes were donation slips to simply check the amount box you desired to give and were coupled with a pre-stamped envelope. This was very impressive and highlighted

The age old "friend" ploy.

Habitat's understanding that by making it as easy for the donor as possible would ensure a greater likelihood that the donor would actually send something back. Tying in with discussions we've had in our Grant Writing and Fundraising class, not all of the letters were "plea" letters. Some of them were purely "thank you for your support" letters and included those familiar phrases like "good friends like you" and small tokens of appreciation. In the handful of letters I looked at there was a calendar with images of children whose families have all received Habitat housing, personalized mailing labels, seasonal stationary, car decals, and a personal message and photo from a family in front of their Habitat home (see image below).

Ultimately, I believe Habitat for Humanity knows how to reach out to their donors and effectively communicate a need for donations. While I thought many of the letters were very long and wordy, they did adequately convey the stories of individuals who needed and received the good works of "donors like you" in their Habitat homes. Based on the universal themes of family and home being a safe and secure place, Habitat has the ability to pull from a wide range of donors and I think they've created a well done mailing pattern that will help them meet their end results. Since I am still the stereotypical "poor college student" I will not be donating money any time soon, but I will continue to serve their greater goal through volunteering on build days with my local Habitat for Humanity.

For the donors who need facts in their donation process,
here it is!

Look at all the sweet thank you gifts Habitat sent this donor!