Fundraising response forms adapting to recession, says Tick Box Report
Howard Lake | 11 March 2009 | News
Printed fundraising response materials are changing, according to the Tick Box Report 2009 from advertising and marketing consultant Andrew Papworth. The changes are likely to be reactions to the recession, he argues.
The 120-page report analyses the design of 191 reply forms and coupons in loose inserts, mailshots and and newspaper and magazine adverts published in 2008-09 and designed to raise funds for 105 organisations.
Papworth has found that the trend away from asking for one-off donations and towards asking for regular direct debit payments reversed during 2008/09. This could be because fundraisers assume that people are currently less willing to commit to regular giving when their own incomes could be in doubt.
But Papworth suggests another reason. Whereas in the past fundraisers were happy to achieve lower response rates for regular giving appeals, given the lifetime value of such donors, now they are more keen simply to achieve a higher volume of response, so appeals for one-off gifts become more likely.
The report also found that the range of asks for one-off gifts tends to be much larger than for regular direct debits. Although the typical asks are not very different – about £20 for one-off gifts and £2 or £3 per month for direct debits (equivalent to £24 to £36 per annum) – Papworth suggests it is not uncommon for the range of one-off asks to go up to over £1000, whereas the highest ask for direct debits was £24 per month (or £288 per year).
“Whether £24 per month is a realistic limit for regular giving is open to testing,” said Papworth. “Clearly some people – even in these straitened times – could well afford £100 per month for a cause close to their hearts. It could be a case of if you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
He points out that one charity, Centrepoint, has adopted a tactic which could be developed further. “They say that £12 per month will sponsor a room for a homeless person and £24 will sponsor two such rooms. There is an interesting idea here which could be adapted and extended by other fundraisers.”
In the report Papworth questions the lack of choice typically given to donors. “Coupons and reply forms tend to force supporters down one channel – either into one-off gifts or regular giving,” he said. “This could be a big mistake. It’s hard work attracting attention and getting read. Once you’ve achieved the hard part, it makes sense to enable readers to express their support in one of a number of ways.”
Papworth also suggests that some membership and sponsorship organisations could be missing a trick in not offering an opportunity to donate without, or as well as, joining or sponsoring. He counsels against newspaper and magazine adverts that rely purely on a phone number of website as a response channel. “Apart from the fact that some people prefer the post,” he said, “the addition of a coupon flags the fact that the ad is inviting a response.”
Overall, the report indicates that fundraising print could be much more user-friendly. “You’d think that relationship marketing had never happened,” said Papworth. “Reply addresses are corporate and impersonal; there are very few ‘thank yous’; there’s not much promise of feedback on how donations will be spent; premium telephone numbers are used with no explanation of cost and too often a donor who cuts out and sends off a coupon is left with no means of contact.”
The Tick Box Report 2009 is designed to offer a benchmark of current practice and to indicate possible improvements based on examples which depart from the norm. It includes 27 detailed data tables and 42 charts.
It is available at £70 per copy from Andrew Papworth at **@ma*******.uk.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.