2009 was not a banner year for nonprofits, but organizations continue to build on lessons learned operating through challenging times.
Paradysz Research’s MarketTrends reports for the nonprofit sector show that, like nearly all consumer categories, nonprofit organizations retrenched in 2009. Overall acquisition promotion activity for the sector decreased considerably in 2009 compared to the prior year, down nearly 20%. (Note: we track only new donor acquisition efforts.) The biggest sectors like Humanitarian and Disease/Health were down the most as groups strategically pulled back mailings in response to soft performance and increased mailing costs.
Nonprofit Monthly Promotion Activity
Here is a look at the year-over-year monthly timing of nonprofit front-end promotions. Our MarketRelevance tracking tool logged in approximately 2,000 efforts in 2009 compared to 2,500 in 2008. April and September saw the biggest declines. Promotional activity was not down in every category. While the total number of nonprofit prospecting efforts was down, Military/Law groups held steady in 2009 compared to 2008.
Nonprofit Direct Mail Incentive Use
Heavy incentive use continues, as nonprofits work hard to coax response from hesitant, cash-strapped donors. In 2009, 44% of all promotions included freemiums, up from 41% in 2008. While address labels remain the most popular freemium, other interesting front-end gifts included a key ring from Food for the Poor and a toothbrush from AdoptaPlatoon. 30% of nonprofit efforts offered premiums, up from 28% the year before. Organizations rewarded donors with premiums that range from t-shirts, books and plush toys.
Nonprofit Ask Arrays
Groups continued to tweak ask amounts, and not surprisingly, the use of higher amounts ($25+) was down in 2009 compared to 2008.
Nonprofit Direct Mail Universes
While the full impact of less prospecting remains to be seen, donor universes have already been on the decline, reaching a two-year low of 63.7MM mailable names at the end of 2009. This charts the 12 month active direct mail universe of 800+ nonprofit organizations. The abbreviated donor pool of names further illustrates some of the challenges facing nonprofits.
Again, this trend was not consistent across the board. The Military/Law sector grew over the past year, up 1.1MM names (10%), primarily due to the release of two related new lists Disabled Veterans National Foundation (583M names) and National Veterans Foundation (397M names). Growth was also observed in the two largest files, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV), up 279M names (10%) and 105M names (4%).
