Sponsored Content WEBINAR: ELECTION 2008: E-mail Tips from a Political Insider   WEBINAR: Becoming the Illusionist: The Magic of Using "Brand" to Drive Response without Results Disappearing in the Process   WEBINAR: Score and Win Through Cooperation   TOOLS OF THE TRADE: Holiday's are prime-time for email marketing - maximize your ROI by getting to the inbox   ON DEMAND WEBINAR--MASTER CLASS: High Performance Online and Off-line Strategies for Large Scale Customer Acquisition   FREE WHITE PAPER - Direct Mail and the Internet Find any supplier you need - agencies, CRM, fulfillment, lists, e-commerce, paper, printers, telemarketing, and more. Featured Categories Lists and Data Telemarketing Database Marketing E-commerce Web Marketing Agency & Creative Services Print, Production & Paper Lists and Data Processing :: view all categories Get free access to more than 50,000 list data cards - one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry. >> Search Now DIRECT Buzz Blog Webinars Buyer's Guide Calculators JobZone ListFinder Promo Calendar Research Store E-Newsletters Print Magazine This Month in Direct Magazine Deal With It Direct had a full house for this year's list roundtable. Considering all the additional responsibilities on brokers' plates, that's impressive... See Full July Issue

Several local food banks pulled down response rates of nearly 7% in less than three weeks to an early September mail fundraising efforts-- which represent a new donation vehicle for many of these local agencies.

These are early results from an overall 150,000-piece drop in 18 markets nationwide stretching from Virginia to Alaska.

In a drop of 20,471 letters sent to people in Richmond and Fredericksburg, VA; Tulsa, OK and San Antonio, TX, local food banks received 1,405 responses, generating $62,112 in total revenue, said Connie Dean, vice president of the Lincoln, NE office, Grizzard, the charities’ agency.

From this effort, the food banks received an average gift of $44.21 and generated $5.35 for every dollar it invested in this effort.

The mail packages were sent to current and expired donor lists in 18 markets across the country with focus on Virginia, Florida and Alaska, noted Dean.

Each of these mailings included “multiplier” coupons. Here, local food banks made arrangements with local restaurants and grocery stores and other suppliers to donate surplus food to the food banks that might otherwise get thrown in the trash.

Under this plan a $1.00 donation to a food bank could pay for $14 worth of food and a $50 donation could foot the bill for $700 worth of food, said Dean.

Direct mail donors to the food banks tend to be younger--in their 40s, say--than typical nonprofit donors who generally skew at 55 or older, said Dean. They are also highly educated and affluent.

Grizzard has been running mail fundraising campaigns for food banks since last year. She noted that most of them are in the mail nine or 10 times a year. Some, however, are now only hitting the mails about three or four times a year.

Looking forward to 2005, Grizzard is looking to sign on more of the estimated 240 food banks across the country.