Don't Discount Direct Mail

Contrary to expectations, direct mail is thriving and will probably do well for another 10 years or more, according to a survey released at a fund-raising conference presented by the Greater New York Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Mark Mellman, a pollster for liberal causes in Washington, and Charles Pruitt, a marketing consultant for liberal charitable and political causes, said the results of their most recent survey surprised them. A 1995 survey by Mr. Mellman predicted direct-mail solicitations would receive lower response rates as older generations of donors who were used to relying on the mail died. Instead, Mr. Mellman said he found in the new survey that response rates have remained about the same, and that older generations are being replaced as direct-mail givers by baby-boomers — people born between 1946 and 1963 — as those Americans enter retirement. It turns out, he said, that the generation of the donor doesn’t matter nearly as much as whether or not they have the time and the discretionary income to respond to direct-mail solicitations. For more on this, click here.