Tag Archive for: data segmentation

The Great Wealth Transfer: An Opportunity for Nonprofits

As Baby Boomers pass on their assets to Millennials and Gen Z, an estimated $68 trillion will change hands over the next 25 years1. This monumental shift presents a unique and unprecedented opportunity for nonprofits to secure a brighter future.

As this change occurs, recognizing generational differences will be key in building relationships with donors across age groups. Let’s explore what this change means for you and why integrating direct mail into your communications strategy is essential.

Why It Matters

Increased Giving Potential

With the wealth transfer to younger generations, who are said to be more socially conscious, there is a significant potential for increased giving. Although Millennials have less disposable income today, building relationships and stewardship efforts now may result in increased giving tomorrow.  These generations prioritize social impact and are more likely to support causes that resonate with their values.  Nonprofits aligning their missions with younger donors’ interests and values can tap into this expanded giving potential.

Engagement Opportunities

Engaging with current and next-generation donors now can secure future support and create lasting relationships. Building trust and demonstrating impact are crucial for maintaining donor loyalty across generations. Younger generations require transparency, authenticity, and reassurance that they’re making an impact. Nonprofits that invest in meaningful engagement strategies will be well-positioned to benefit from sustained and increased support. While digital channels are important, direct mail remains a highly effective tool for creating a tangible connection with donors. Direct mail pieces, when combined with digital outreach, can enhance engagement by providing a personal touch that digital communications alone can’t achieve.

Direct mail offers a unique way to stand out in a crowded digital landscape. Personalized, high-quality mail pieces can capture attention, convey appreciation, and highlight the impact of donations. In an era where digital communications can be easily overlooked, direct mail provides a physical reminder of your organization’s mission and its value to the donor community.

Strategic Planning

Did you know that Millennials are now the largest generation in the U.S., making up 21.7% of the population?

Nonprofits that strategically plan for this wealth transfer can position themselves to benefit from increased donations and larger bequests. Developing comprehensive stewardship programs and personalized donor journeys from direct mail to email will be key to capturing the attention and commitment of these new donors. Although this population has less discretionary money currently, it’s essential to build relationships and programs today to create bonds that last into the future.  Forward-thinking organizations will thrive by anticipating donor needs and preferences.

The Role of Direct Mail

Direct mail should be woven into your overall fundraising strategy because it adds a valuable personal touch that resonates with most donors. Direct mail can be used to:

  • Drive Home Messaging: Enable heightened storytelling that highlights success stories or upcoming initiatives that can be reinforced by digital efforts.
  • Personalize Engagement: Increase effectiveness through personalized touchpoints from stewardship efforts, impact reports, or tailored appeals that stand out and feel more sincere.
  • Relationship building: There’s nothing like a tangible item to stand out from the crowd and make a lasting impression that builds ties.

By incorporating direct mail into your strategy, you create a multi-channel experience that leverages the strengths of both physical and digital communications.

How We Can Help 

At BCG Connect, we understand the importance of staying ahead of trends and seizing opportunities. Our team excels in data segmentation, allowing us to isolate different groups and target them with personalized messaging. This ensures that your direct mail campaigns resonate with each unique audience segment.

Let us help you build lasting relationships across generations with our professional and creative direct mail offerings and supporting digital assets. By leveraging our expertise, you can create compelling, multi-channel campaigns that engage donors and inspire action.

Seize the opportunity. The Great Wealth Transfer is a historic moment that nonprofits can’t afford to overlook. By proactively engaging with donors and tactically planning for the future, you can ensure your organization thrives for years to come. An essential part of that plan is strategic direct mail and digital fundraising communications.

Let’s work together to make the most of this transformative wealth transfer and secure a brighter future for your organization.

For more information on how BCG Connect can support your nonprofit during this pivotal time contact us here: bcgconnect.com/contact.

Sources: Forbes1, National Philanthropic Trust, Statista, Anchor Marketing, & Donorbox

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The Truth About Ugly Betty Campaigns

To most of the world, “Ugly Betty” was the name of an ABC original TV series starring America Ferrera. However, in the world of fundraising professionals, an ugly betty is an effective way to renew gifts from prior donors using a very direct, invoice-style approach.  

So, is an ugly betty ugly?

No! An ugly betty is simply an invoice-style appeal. Although it may not include many photos, there are plenty of creative elements that can be used to grab donor attention and increase participation. 

What’s so effective about an ugly betty? When donors look through their mail, something that looks like an invoice or bill will drive them to open it immediately or set it aside for future review. Consumers are inclined to pull out the “more important” pieces of mail to make sure that they don’t miss any official documents. 

You might ask, “Why wouldn’t every appeal be an invoice style, then?” If every appeal were an invoice style, it would reduce its effectiveness. Many organizations send ugly betty mailers towards the end of their fiscal year to capture prior donors that haven’t given yet. 

St. Joseph's College Ugly Betty Letter

3 components to consider:

1. Creative

The effectiveness of these invoice-style appeals can be heightened with eye-catching, modern, and action-driving creative elements.  

The invoice-style appeal often emphasizes prior giving, lack of giving this fiscal year, and a strong call to action to donate. That simple message combined with a superior design is a winning combination.  

Check out some examples sculpted by our creative team.  

2. Envelope type

How do you know when you get a bill in the mail? There is usually a special type of envelope or design that evokes urgency. Whether it’s a window envelope or verbiage like, “Important: Action Required,” you can entice your donors to open your mailer by creating an air of importance and driving quick action. 

3. Data segmentation

Organizations often have an immense amount of data, but don’t always use it. When data and direct mail align, the possibilities are endless. Data is a critical component of an effective ugly betty campaign as it helps to showcase individual donor histories and strategically determine what donation amount to ask for. For example, it enables the capability to isolate that Donor A gave $25 in 2022 and 2023 but hasn’t given in 2024—making it possible to pinpoint an appropriate ask of $30 and two reach donation amounts as opposed to asking for $500.  

Want to discover some of our creative ugly betty appeal designs?  

View examples here. 

At BCG Connect we partner with nonprofit professionals to weave multichannel creative marketing solutions into their fundraising, stewardship, brand marketing, event campaigns, and more. BCG Connect helps non-profit organizations find, attract, and keep donors. We also assist with multichannel creative needs. 

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3 Focus Areas for Creating Engaging Annual Reports

BCG Connect is a steadfast supporter and advocate of Friends of the Children-Boston (Friends-Boston), a nonprofit organization dedicated to breaking the cycle of generational poverty through salaried, professional mentoring. To achieve this, Friends-Boston pro-actively identifies kindergartners who possess untapped limitless potential but face the most significant barriers to future success. They then relentlessly dedicate their resources to them for the child’s entire school aged years – kindergarten through graduation, no matter what. That’s 12+ years!

One of BCG’s most recent collaborations with Friends of the Children was their 2019 Milestone Report. The challenge was to create an inviting and informative report that everyone wanted to read. It was important to understand that these readers were already supporters, so the message had to be tailored to them. Friends of the Children also stressed their desire for this report to have a contemporary feel, complete with story-like infographics and interesting data visualization.

Some of the areas highlighted to achieve this can be applied universally.

Here are 3 focus areas for engaging annual reports:

  • Understand the organization’s mission

An organization’s mission statement is its lifeblood, and they must find meaningful ways for donors to contribute to that mission. It is essential to understand, highlight, and appreciate this in order to convey its message successfully.

  • Mention successes and failures

It’s important to highlight the organization’s progress, which includes the good, the bad, and everything in between. Executive Director of Friends of the Children, Yi-Chin Chen beautifully expresses this as the ability to “Fail Louder” in future endeavors.

  • Communicate data visually

Data is one of the most compelling engagement tools in fundraising, as donors want to know how their gift has impacted an organization. It’s often difficult to translate these stats into an eye-catching format. Stick to simple numbers, appropriate chart types, and consistent formatting.

One recipient of the 2019 Annual Report shared:

“I just received the 2019 milestone report in the mail – congratulations on a really beautiful publication. I immediately wanted to read it and found it really engaging and inspiring. I love how it’s on-brand, authentic, compelling, and provides easy ways to see how anyone in the community might engage.”

-Anonymous recipient

You can view the Friends of the Children 2019 Annual Report here.

For more information on how BCG Connect can create similar projects for you, contact us today.

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Exceed Your Goals with a Strong Fall Giving Plan

The air is getting crisp outside. The leaves are getting crunchier. School bus lights flash longer waiting for students to scurry aboard. This could only mean one thing – fall is here. These signs of fall should ignite the fundraiser in you to spark your donors to give. How should you do that? Well first, it starts with a strong strategic annual giving plan.

By now, most fundraisers have a strategic annual giving plan, but there is always time to make adjustments and improvements.

Strengthen your annual giving plan by asking yourself these questions:

  • How does this year’s annual giving plan differ from our plan last year? Regardless of if you had the best year yet, or a year that needs improvement, you should always try to do something a little different.
    • Yes, if you had the best year to date, continue doing what you’re doing. However, what’s next? How can you keep that stamina up? It’s all about thinking ahead and continuing to have that donor-mindset at the forefront of your initiatives.
    • If you had a year that needs major improvement, try something completely new – do some testing and analysis and determine what had the best results. For example, maybe it was a self-mailer over an 8.5×11″ letter, a Facebook ad over a LinkedIn ad, a phone call over an email. Whatever it may be, it’s important to analyze what your donors respond to. Keep in mind that it can take multiple touchpoints before a donor takes action. Ensure that you are communicating with them on all channels to reach them where they are.
  • Did we draft a schedule for initiatives this year? Laying out what the initiative is, who will be targeted, what the goal is, and the timeframe of execution is critical to your team’s success. It not only confirms that everyone is on the same page, but it also helps you stay on track with initiatives. Sometimes, things change. Having a schedule helps you see what adjustments might need to be made if something arises. This central resources can allow your team to be concise, consistent, and focused.
  • How did we use personalization in appeals? Donors expect a personal touch now more than ever. How did you use variable data to personalize the ask? How was the data segmented to properly target the right people with the right message? Instead of sending everyone the same message with the same imagery, try to show donors that you know what’s important to them. If the donor connects with the institution on a personal level, they will be more inclined to donate because they start building an affinity to it.

For more than two decades, we have been successful in partnering with fundraising organizations to create a personalized, custom approach to their marketing and fundraising initiatives, targeting the right people with an effective message, to reach their prospective and current donors. Let us help you!

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