Nonprofit Case Study

New Member Acquisition Mailing Exceeds Expectations

New members are not easy to get. So, when the Monadnock Conservancy thought about raising money for two land preservation projects, they looked at it as an opportunity to find new members and build awareness for their work.

The List

Five Maples rented a list of home owners in the two towns for the mailing. Though not as complete as tax-roll lists from the town, they don’t require cleaning up and deduping. All owner-occupiers were rented with no select for home values. Non-occupying owners were not included.

The rental list was suppressed with the Monadnock Conservancy member file so that no current members were solicited.

The Message

Pat Payne, Membership and Development Manager at the Conservancy wrote letters about protecting the open land of two historic, working farms in the community. The values of preservation of the community, protection of the future, partnering with others through supporting the projects, and becoming a member came out strongly.

Pat wrote an especially effective PS, assuring the prospective member that their contribution would have tremendous impact: “P.S. Over the last five years, every $84 donated to the Conservancy has allowed the protection of a full acre of local land!”

The Design

The most effective letters are from a person to a person, so Five Maples designed letters that were personalized, with bolding and underlining of key phrases. Two photos on each letter, with captions, provided visual interest and immediately connected the reader to the beauty, history and local value of the farms.

The tear-off card started with a strong affirmation and made response easy by including the addressee’s information preprinted on the card. Text was large and easy to read.

The letter signer’s signature, printed under the return address on the outer envelope, enhanced the personal nature of the communication.

The Results

Most acquisition mailings get results under 1%. But, due to the local importance of these two projects, the Conservancy was hoping for an aggressive 2.5% response rate. And, the mailings exceeded that goal with a 4% response rate! These new members will help sustain the organization and preserve the community over many years.

The Monadnock Conservancy has graciously allowed me to share their letters with you: