Catholic Group Tries to Help Donors See What Their Gifts Do

Compiled by Nicole Lewis and Elizabeth Schwinn

Mark Melia and Kevin Whorton, senior fund-raising managers, Catholic Relief Services (Baltimore)

How do 2003 donations to date compare with 2002?

Mr. Melia: Total revenue

is up slightly, approximately 4 percent. Unrestricted revenue is up 14 percent this year, but restricted funds — those designated for specific purposes — are down 12 percent. Over all, fund raising is fairly positive, since each quarter in 2003 outperformed 2002, and we achieved several new monthly highs.

What’s the prognosis for end-of-year appeals?

Mr. Melia: Although revenue in the first month and a half of fiscal 2004, which began October 1, has been flat, we are optimistic about our end-of-year appeals and expect a positive performance relative to 2003. We expect to receive most of our gifts at the end of December. It seems that increasingly the public is waiting until closer and closer to the end of the year before giving.

Has the recent positive economic news had any impact on fund raising?

Mr. Melia: We have not yet seen any substantial change that we could reasonably attribute to the positive economic news reported by the media. However, we are expecting that as the economy strengthens, our fund-raising revenues will rise accordingly.

What fund-raising techniques do you expect to do best at the end of this year?

Mr. Whorton: In addition to our continuing focus on expanding the major-donor and midlevel-donor programs, we believe that our general direct-mail program will perform well. We’re particularly optimistic about the pieces that have traditionally been our strongest performers: the Christmas appeal, 2003 year-end summary mailing, and 2004 calendar. It’s not that there is anything special about the mailings themselves; it’s that our donors tend to give once a year and this is the time of year they prefer. Those efforts, plus the other things we do in the last two months of the year, account for 30 to 35 percent of our revenue. Two of those mailings will generate $2-million to $2.5-million each.

What hasn’t worked well?

Mr. Whorton: This year’s emergency campaigns for Iraq, Ethiopia, Liberia, and the AIDS crisis in Africa did not resonate with our donors as well as emergencies have in previous years. For the African emergencies, we believe this is largely due to lack of widespread, consistent media exposure about these emergencies. I don’t think people were aware of the drought in Ethiopia, for example.

Additionally, our monthly giving programs have flat-lined, which we believe is a reflection of the uncertain economic conditions of the past year. People have not been as responsive to our invitations to enter monthly giving programs.

We’re trying to provide other reasons for people to give on a continuous basis. For example, they might be motivated to give to a particular village if they know the money goes to that village each month. We’re trying to strip it down so it’s more than just a monthly transaction. It has to carry some emotional weight for the donor.

What is the single most important step you’ve taken to stimulate end-of-year giving?

Mr. Whorton: We’ve renewed our focus on reacquiring lapsed donors and strengthening ties to current donors. One specific initiative we’ve made is to customize our level and frequency of direct-mail contacts with donors based on their own preferences and probability of giving.

Our database has codes that allow us to send the exact number and type of mailings a donor would prefer to receive.

For example, donors can ask to receive only our bimonthly magazine. Or they can opt out of expensive-looking mailings or the calendar. We also noticed that by sending just one mailing to people who give once a year, we’re not receiving any less money from them.

We’re reaching lapsed donors through targeted telephone calls. Otherwise, we’ve experimented with sending “we’ve missed you” and other mailings.

What are your predictions for 2004?

Mr. Melia: We’re anticipating a modest 7-percent growth rate for 2004 and fully expect to reach this goal.

Any new approaches you are trying?

Mr. Whorton: In an effort to find ways to tangibly link our donors with our work overseas, we have created a Project Catalog and Web site that allow donors to choose a project to which they can direct their funds.

We are also developing a program that helps donors better understand the realities of the villages we work in and how development works. We’re piloting this program, a combination of print and Web, for three locations. We describe the village, its size, how long we’ve been there. Then we make it very clear that it’s just one of many villages we’re helping around the world. It’s another way we’re trying to make everything more tangible.

We are also seeking to further engage our supporters by using our Web site for education and cultivation.