Penelope Burk Versus Donor Behaviour: Direct Mail Fundraising Is Not in Decline

Fundraising consultant and researcher Penelope Burk of Cygnus Applied Research says direct mail is declining in popularity. She is wrong.

In her firm's latest report, The Cygnus Donor Survey: Where Philanthropy is Headed in 2011, Burk says there is "a continuing decline in donors' desire to transact their gifts through the mail; 26% of those wmbt shoes clearance ho gave through the mail last year said they plan to give less this way in 2011 (less often, less money or both).

The problem with Burk's survey is that it reports on what donors say they will do, not on what they actually do. Burk partnered with 40 not-for-profit organizations for her research. But she didn't ask them if their direct mail programs are growing or shrinking. Instead, she surveyed 22,000 donors from these organizations, and asked these donors what they think of direct mail.

And there's the problem.

Donors will tell you they receive too much mail. But rembt shoes outlet spond anyway. Donors will tell you they hate receiving fundraising telephone calls during supper. But give over the phone anyway. Donors will tell you they prefer to hear from you by email. But then won't read your email appeals.

What donors say they will do and what they actually do are often two different things.

I had a neighbor like that. Maurice said he'd never attend an estate sale organized by the local auctioneer because the auctioneer was "as crooked as a snake." But wouldn't you know, at the estate sale of a widow neighbor of ours, who was up at the front of the auction, bdiscount mbt shoes idding on all the items he wanted? Maurice.

If you want to discover where philanthropy is heading, don't ask donors what they desire to do next year. Ask charities what they are doing next year.

That's what the Association of Fundraising Professionals did in the Fall of 2011 with an online poll of its members. Their Quick Poll mirrors what my firm sees happening in the sector, namely, that the majority of charities (61% of poll respondents) are neither abandoning nor decreasing their use of direct mail. A whopping 35% of poll respondents are increasing their use of direct mail.

Direct mail still rules the day in fundraising. Direct-mail giving still brings in the majority of fundraising revenue. The vast majority of charities raise less than 10% of their annual income online.

If you want to discover if direct mail is declining, look at your numbers. They are never mistaken. But donors sometimes are. And so are the researchers who report on those donors' desires and supposed preferences.