Why Non-Jewish Fundraisers Should Use Jewish Lists

No, it's not for the chicken soup and matzah-balls.

Jews are the highest earning religious group in the United States, according to a research study released this week.

An impressive 46 percent of Jewish respondents reported annual incomes of $100,000 or more.

The comprehensive study was conducted by the Washington D.C.- based Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

David Rubin

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"Small" Donors

Clinton built a top-down fund-raising operation that relied on a core group of donors to write checks early on for the maximum amount, $4,600 for the primary and the general election, which left few of them to go back to when money became tight. Obama, by contrast, focused on building a network of small donors whose continued ability to give has been essential to his success this winter.

The above quote is from a recent New York Times article analyzing the reasons behind Obama's surge and Clinton's fade.

It's a good example for all fundraising professionals to consider carefully.

Do you rely too heavily on large-gift donors, or is your fundraising program more balanced?

Think of your fundraising as you would your retirement portfolio.

For the long run you need a mix of investments that ensure you will make money in good financial times and not lose too much when the markets head south.

In the same way, you need a mix of donors: large-gift and small-but-steady-gift. Those who attend dinners, people who respond to direct mail, and donors via your web-site.

It's easy to write off the small donors when times are good. That's clearly a mistake. Ask Hillary.

David Rubin

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Creating Authentic Connections

Imagine directly connecting your donors to those who actually benefit from their donations!

Kiva.org CEO Matt Flannery has done Just That.

Kiva the first Web site to let anyone with a PayPal account donate, has recently had phenomenal success with connecting individual lenders to specific entrepreneurs in developing third world countries by using new advances in the social web. Kiva's fundraising model is based on being fun, engaging and connecting lenders and those receiving loans.

The major reason for Kiva's success is the donor experience Kiva gives their lenders. The giving process becomes an engaging, and a one on one experience between the donor and those in need. These types of inter-personal connections create invaluable bonds within an organization that go beyond the traditional donor & beneficiary relationship.

Kiva describes the giving process they have created like this: "We facilitate connections. Kiva is using the power of the internet to facilitate one-to-one connections that were previously prohibitively expensive."

Kiva.org has figured out that donors are seeking real life experiences and not just a worthy cause to donate to.

Yoav Kaufman

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Shekel to be no Longer Considered an "Emerging" Currency

Great news for the Israeli economy!

After decades of being considered an emerging currency by the international banking community, the Israeli shekel will soon be taking a big step up to being accepted by the world's financial markets.

Haaretz.com reporter Motti Bassok reports that...

"...within three months it (the shekel) will become fully convertible in the international currency markets along with 15 other currencies. This means that Israel's shekel will be traded in the global markets, with international financial institutions and speculators buying and selling it in exchange for any of the other 15 convertible currencies of the developed nations. Also, shekels will be available at all the major commercial banks in about 80 developed and developing nations around the world."

"The change improves Israel's status among institutional and private investors, and no less importantly, among the international credit rating agencies Moody's, Standard and Poor's, and Fitch. It will significantly reduce the exchange-rate risks that Israel's financial sector faces in the international marketplace."

For the entire Haaretz.com article click here.

This development should help bolster a new level of economic stability that Israel will need over the coming months and years.

The main credit for this change should go to Economist and current Governor of the Bank of Israel, Stanley Fischer.

How does this affect the Jewish Direct Mail market?

Well, since the Shekel is gaining unprecedented value and acceptance world wide, we think that this change will make direct mail marketing for Israeli organizations looking for potential U.S. donors and buyers a bit easier, at least monetarily.

Yoav Kaufman

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Surround Your Market

Do you surround your market?

That is: are you reaching out in every possible way to your donors or buyers?

Marketing Guru Denny Hatch has written great piece on the marketing efforts of the “American Girl” company.

And here is a nifty little email that we received today from Stash Tea Company

It's Chinese New Year and the 12-month cycle that began February 7th is the
Year of the Rat. Traditionally, the Chinese regard the rat as a protector and
sign of prosperity. Family gatherings, along with special foods and tea, also
mark this festive holiday.

Those born in the Year of the Rat work hard to achieve their goals and are
charming, passionate, charismatic, and practical. Other years of the Rat are
1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, and 1996.

Here at Stash Tea, we're celebrating the Year of the Rat with some great offers! You can now order our Peony Maze Covered Mug with Infuser for only $9.95, originally $13. Offer available through March 15, 2008 while supplies last. In addition, we're
offering our annual Chinese New Year 15% discount on our Yixing teaware (again,
through March 15, 2008 while supplies last.) Yixing (pronounced ee-shing)
teaware is made from the world's only source of the unique, porous clay from the
Yixing region in China.

What a great idea! Stash Tea found an interesting, unusual, relevant and funny reason to contact their customers and get them to buy more tea and tea ware.

Are you like the people at Stash Tea: thinking of new, innovative, creative ways of being in touch with your customers?

You should be, because your competitors most certainly are.

David Rubin

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Tom Lantos: Friend to Israel, Holocaust Survivor and U.S. Congressman

Sad news today from Washington.

Tom Lantos, who not only incredibly escaped two Nazi forced labor camps but eventualy went on to be the only elected U.S. Representitive to survive the Holocaust died today at the age of 80. Haaretz.com reports that "Flags were lowered to half-staff at the White House and U.S. Capitol building"

To read more from Haaretz.com about Congressman Lantos's amazing journey from near death in the Holocaust to serving the last three decades of his life as a member of Congress click here.

Yoav Kaufman

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Jewish Donor Blog now on Technorati!

New! Visit us out at Technorati.com ... if you like our posts and find yourself reading our blog often, please mark us as a favorite!

Yoav Kaufman

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Fundraising for the Long Term

Chess is a great fundraising analogy.

Are you only looking one move ahead or do you have the skills to see two, three or even four moves into the game? Usualy the player that can visualize how the game will unfold has the advantage.

In fundraising Sometimes having even the best cause is simply not enough. Focusing on getting a donation is not enough. You need to see a few steps beyond that donation.

When you receive that donation, no matter what size, take the time to see the next few steps. Think about the next donation or the next two or three donations that person might make. Make each donor feel important, like they are your main focus because if you don't, you can be sure that there are plenty of other organizations that will and that donor will most likely donate to them before they will ever donate to you again.

If you look ahead past the current donation and follow up with your donors to invite them to be a vital piece of your cause then you will have a much better shot at keeping them for the long term... if not you risk loosing them somtime soon.

Yoav Kaufman

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Is Direct Mail Dead?

Not yet.

That’s the short answer, but not the entire answer.

Marketing Guru and all-around innovative thinker, Seth Godin (see Seth’s Blog at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ ) thinks direct mail is dying.

With all due respect to Seth, I would disagree.

But direct mail is changing.

For one thing, the USPS keeps making it more expensive and direct mailers respond by mailing less. It’s a vicious cycle.

So more to the point: should you continue to send direct mail?

Absolutely.

But you do need to think about it differently than in the past.

Some points to consider:

1) Because direct mail is more expensive than ever, you need to mail smarter and
not just mail more. Talk to a specialist in direct mail. Use better lists.
Rewrite your packages. Test, test and test again.

2) Since there are alternatives, think of direct mail as a part of your overall media mix alongwith advertising, email, blogs and websites.

3) Using email blasts in place of direct mail is not the answer. Email needs to work with your direct mail. It can’t replace it because some people (especially in the
older-than-average Jewish community) don’t or won’t use email. Many others won’t
even open an unsolicited email. Email blast response rates are
appalling.

4) The Human Factor. We’re all different and one size does not fit all. Some people want to shop online. Others prefer to curl up with a catalog. Some people will read an email blast; others need a well-written letter telling a compelling story. Why ignore either group?


5) Consider this conundrum. Many people now receive a piece of direct mail, log
onto your website and donate with a credit card. Why not? It’s faster, easier
and you get credit card points. Are you counting them as direct mail donors?
Because they responded to your direct mail. Or are they just getting lost in
your system?

TV did not kill off movies but it changed the way the film industry produces movies and the way we watch movies. The internet is doing the same to the music industry.

Email and websites and blogs are not going to kill direct mail. But they are changing how our clients consume it, how we produce it and how we use it to generate sales or donations.

Are we up to the task?

David Rubin

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