Plan, print, & mail your 2021 year-end appeal with APG to do more with less & reduce stress while meeting your deadlines – & your year-end fundraising goals.
Schedule a consult by October 1, 2021
to get 20% off* your year-end appeal!
*Not including the cost of USPS postage. Order must be placed by December 31st, 2021.
Or scroll down…
For a behind-the-scenes look at how we designed
& personalized this “mock” appeal just for you!
BEHIND THE SCENES…
We know it’s extra important this giving season that Oregon nonprofits get the support & funding they need to continue doing their critical work in 2022.
We created a mock-appeal package & personalized it just for you to show how impactful personalization can be. Now learn how you can do the same for your donors to help them feel more connected, motivated, & appreciated.
PERSONALIZATION IS EFFECTIVE.
Experience & research tell us that personalized direct mail is more effective – the more details about a donor you can point to, the more impactful the message.
Read the sections below for insights about each piece of the personalized appeal package you received in the mail.
Then download one, two, or all three of the PDF guides to learn the ins & outs of direct mail for nonprofits, personalization, & appeal design on a budget.
THE ENVELOPE
For the outer envelope, we chose a bright colored #10 envelope, printed in black & white to keep costs down. The unique, lime green color hopefully stood out in the mail pile & caught your eye!
To further catch your attention, we included a teaser line under the return address personalized with the name of your nonprofit organization.
The last line of text boasts the incentivizing promotional offer – 20% off your year-end appeal – with a prompt to learn more inside.
Tip: Because there is such little room on the outer envelope, we kept our main teaser to 3 lines of text. We also made sure it clearly states the main point we’re trying to make – that we can reduce your workload & help you raise as much as possible this year!
THE LETTER
For our ‘mock appeal’ we chose an 8.5×14” letter size to give us a bit more breathing room for our content than a standard 8.5×11” would have allowed. To keep costs down, we kept the full-color printing to one-side.
The section at the top features 3 pieces of personalized content. Your name & the name of your organization are personalized in the header text, as well as 4 other places throughout the body of the letter.
The third personalized piece is the header photo. We sourced a different free-for-use photo for each of the nonprofit industries we mailed to, to visually connect our message to each individual’s mission.
If you work with animals, for example, you received a letter with a photo of an adorable brown-eyed puppy getting a gentle chin scratch. If your organization is centered around helping the environment, you received a photo of people cleaning up trash on an Oregon beach.
This is one example of how you can tailor the visual elements of your year-end appeal to make a deeper connection with your donors.
Donors in Eastern Oregon can receive a piece with a beautiful photo of the nearby painted hills, while Coastal donors receive a photo of local favorite Haystack Rock – each will feel like your organization understands who they’re talking to better than if they both received a photo of the Portland Metro area.
Create more personalization by including specific information, such as referencing past donation amounts, past events attended (in-person or virtually), & custom asks that hone in on the motivation of each donor.
Tip: Donors want to know that their gifts are appreciated. Use personalization to tell them you remember the exact amount they gave, how it made a difference, & how another gift will make an impact now.
THE REMIT
Did you send back your consult request remit??
As a common staple of year-end appeals, we included a custom remit envelope. We wanted to make these as cost effective as possible, so no information has been personalized & they are printed in simple black & white.
As a return device & reminder to act, remit envelopes are an effective tool. While many people are likely to donate online, remits are still a good idea to include for donors who prefer to write a check or send cash.
Tip: Always include multiple ways donors can give. Even on your remit envelope, include where to give online to make it as easy as possible for everyone.
THE INSERT
We hope you got a giggle out of our additional personalized piece – Future Donations for your organization!
Adding an extra insert piece to your appeal can offer a place for additional messaging that doesn’t quite fit in with the theme of your appeal letter. This way your donors still receive the information, but it doesn’t take away from the impact of your main message.
For example, you could use an insert as a “free ticket” to advertise an upcoming fundraising event, or encourage donors to engage with your nonprofit on social media platforms.
Tip: Inserts are also a good option for a quick donor survey tool – ask a few questions & request they send it back in the remit envelope!
3 MUST-READS FOR BETTER APPEALS
We’ve put together three downloadable resource guides to help you & your team execute your most impactful, smoothest year-end appeal ever.
Read one, two, or all three PDFs for a complete overview of best-practices for year-end appeals, from planning to print.
DIRECT MAIL FOR NONPROFITS
Acquisition & appeal mailings can make a huge, positive impact to your non-profits fundraising efforts. But the complexity of USPS regulations can be overwhelming & anxiety-inducing, especially to your already busy schedule. Whether it’s your first time, or your twentieth – we’re sure you’ll find a new trick or piece of info within this PDF to make your next mailing project go smoother!
HOW TO BE MORE EFFECTIVE WITH PERSONALIZATION
Variable Data is a tool you can use to personalize printed materials, like direct mail, with unique details for each member of your audience. With a little insight into how Personalization works, you’ll be able to get more creative (& more effective) at customizing your materials.
HOW TO DESIGN AN IMPACTFUL APPEAL (WITHOUT PHOTOGRAPHY)
“Pics or it didn’t happen” just isn’t fair to fundraisers!
Many nonprofits struggle with getting high-quality, authentic photos to portray their mission. But you’ve still got to make your appeal stories POP – even if you don’t have pics!
Get strategic tips from a professional who designs dozens of impactful nonprofit appeals each year.
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