This article originally appeared in DMNews Essential Guide to Lists, Database Marketing & Data Services, Jan. 16, 2006

Two years ago, The Cystic Fibrosis (CF) Foundation decided to take their message to the Spanish-speaking market. This was a bold move for an organization whose mail piece revolves around the story of “65 Roses.” “65 Roses” is what little children suffering from cystic fibrosis call their disease. They call it that because the words are easier to pronounce. Sixty-five roses, cystic fibrosis -- see the connection? But, sesenta-cinco rosas, cystic fibrosis? No comprendo.

Lesson 1: Do not plan on using a literal translation of your English piece when marketing to Hispanic populations. There’s more to the translation process than simply converting words. There are cultural differences to consider. Don’t be surprised

Speaking a New Language A Case study in Penetrating the Hispanic Market Martin Stein, President and CEO, RMI Direct Marketing

Volume 9: Issue 2 | June 2006

“Do not planon using a literal translation...when marketing to Hispanic populations.”

Also in this Issue

3 Letter from the Chair 4 Crossing the Language Bridge: How to Hire a Language Company 6 Going GLoBAL: Is it for You? 17 How noT to Reform the UsPs 23 2006: An Integrated-Marketing odyssey 26 Innovations online 30 social CRM …and MoRe

cont. on page 12

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ChAIrAngie MooreAmerican Cancer Society

VICe ChAIrTim BurgessMerkle|Domain

MeMberSMary ArnoldChristian Children’s Fund

Vinay BhagatConvio

Kelly BrowningAmerican Institute forCancer Research

Phil ClaiborneElks Magazine

Christopher CleghornEaster Seals

Bobby DeanCal Farley’s BoysRanch & Affiliates

Jack DoyleAmergent

Craig FloydNational Law EnforcementOfficers Memorial Fund

Lindy LitridesLitrides & Associates

Susan LothDisabled American Veterans

Joel MacCollamWorld Emergency Relief

Larry MayMay Development Services

Kristin McCurryMINDset direct, LLC

Dennis MeyerMeyer Partners

Sherry MintonAmerican Heart Association

Pegg NadlerPegg Nadler Associates, Inc.

Chris ParadyszParadyszMatera

Geoffrey PetersCreative Direct Response

Jo SullivanASPCA

Sue SwordChristian AppalachianProject, Inc.

Joan WheatleySpecial Olympics

Kevin WhortonWhorton MarketingResearch

STAFFSenny Boone, Esq.Executive Director

Helen LeeDirector, Member Programs and Education

Jill MurphyMember Services Manager

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2005-2006 LeadershipFollowing are the members of the DMA Nonprofit Federation’s Advisory Council with leadership responsibilities:

ARe YoU TAkInG fULL AdVAnTAGe of YoUR dMA/dMAnf MeMBeRsHIP?

subscribe to the News Update and State Hot Sheet.

ConTACT: Jill Murphy Tel.: 202.861.2497 or email: jmurphy@the-dma.org

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If you are like me, you can’t believe we are almost half-way through 2006. Time has seemed to “fly” this year in the direct marketing sector, but not without our typical industry challenges, accomplishments and ever-growing and innovative focus on being the best marketers to a rapidly changing and diverse set of customers from around the country and the world. The key to riding this exciting wave we know as

“direct marketing” is to stay focused, be innovative – and most importantly, be as informed as possible. On behalf of the Direct Marketing Association’s Nonprofit Federation, I hope we are helping you with all three areas -- especially by providing information on a regular basis. Whether through educational and networking conferences, e-mail updates that arrive to you in a timely fashion, or this quarterly Journal

-- our goal is to provide you what you need, when you need it. In this Journal issue alone, you will receive critical information about an area of great interest and importance to many companies and organizations

-- direct marketing fundraising to diverse populations. You’ll read articles dealing with translation in marketing, the services available, and will even find a case study specific to fundraising in the Spanish language. But it doesn’t just stop with the print materials landing on your desk from the DMANF. Looking back to earlier this year, the February 2006 Washington Nonprofit Conference was a huge success with more than 895 members of the sector attending, 95 industry experts presenting, and more than 36 educational sessions. And most recently, the long-standing and critically focused 11th Annual Conference on Critical Issues Facing Nonprofits in the Years Ahead was held in the nation’s Capital to ensure our members are prepared and positioned to handle current and upcoming legislative and regulatory issues. Staying informed is necessary -- in fact, mandatory -- for success!

Whether you are a long-time leader in the industry or someone who is just beginning your career, the DMA Nonprofit Federation has the information you need to be successful. Just this month, senior-level nonprofit fundraisers and marketers will convene for an exclusive Leadership Summit, a one-of-a-kind opportunity. And, of course, one of the most successful educational opportunities in the industry will once again be upon us in 60 days -- so make sure you don’t miss the 2006 New York Nonprofit Conference. Visit www.nonprofitfederation.org for more information. Our sector is wide and deep – and the information available to you is equally as expansive. Whether through the online newsletters, special sector meetings, seminars, conferences, or peer-to-peer discussions, the DMA Nonprofit Federation continues to be our industry partner, and wants us all to be as informed as possible every single day. I encourage you to stay abreast of all the changes, opportunities, and new ideas that are born every day in our industry! Information is simply a Web site away -- www.nonprofitfederation.org -- built specifically to serve the nonprofit direct marketing community and those who work in it! As your Chair, I encourage you to take advantage of the many information benefits available to you through your membership in the DMANF. Information is power, and the DMANF wants to empower you every day!

Best regards for a nice summer,

Angie C. MooreChair, Direct Marketing Nonprofit FederationAmerican Cancer Society

Letter from the Chairstaying InformedAngie C. Moore, Managing Director, CRM, American Cancer Society

What would you do if tomorrow you decided you needed a fund-raising brochure or a Web site devoted to endowments produced for in-dividuals whose first language is something other than English? The answer is to use many of the same processes used when hiring a con-sultant or contracting for meeting space in a hotel. Write a detailed request for proposal (RFP), look for professional firms with good rep-utations and references, negotiate the best possible rates, and sign a contract that calls for a specific product by a specific date within a nar-row price range.

DeVeLopINg AN rFp This first step is the most critical. One mistake made by most buyers of translation (the written word) or interpretation (the spoken word) services, is underestimating the level of detail needed when hiring a language company, which will reduce the margin of errors and em-barrassing cultural mistakes. You can avoid such problems by hiring a firm that specializes in translation for your industry or service area, and by outlining exactly what you need done.

TrANSLATIoN ChALLeNgeS Because nonprofits most often need translation help more than in-terpretation, this article focuses on this type of work. There are several factors that can make a translation project more complex than might appear to be the case.

Here are some of the ways clients often underestimate the complexity of their projects:

• You fail to mention that there are graphics or tables.• You do not indicate whether you need a translation of the text in MS

Word, or typesetting to produce output for a printer.• You forget that you need help proofreading the formatted material

to ensure that accented characters, hyphenation, and line breaks are all correct.

• You later decide you need the project in more than one language.

Crossing the Language bridgefundraising in another Language?How to Hire a Professional Language firmRobert E. McLean, CAE, Executive Director, Association of Language Companies

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To ensure an accurate RFP, be as accurate and complete as possible:

• Include samples, preferably in an Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file, of the types of materials you want translated.

• Indicate the programs and ver-sions the source documents were created in, and whether it is for a PC or MAC.

• Indicate the programs and ver-sions in which the target docu-ments should be provided back to you.

• Clearly describe the number of words and pages, the subject matter, and the condition of the source materials.

• Indicate whether the source documents are plain text, or if they include graphics, math-ematical formulas, or scientific characters.

ChooSINg A LANguAge CoMpANy As with buying any services, a good first step is to ask for rec-ommendations from other DMA members. Also, ask friends and colleagues who have purchased translation services, and were sat-isfied with the results (those in the legal and medical fields hire lan-guage firms quite often). It is most important to find firms that have experience in the languages you require — and have translated simi-lar types of documents. Once you identify several pros-pects, compare more than their prices. First, ask them to explain how they ensure delivery of an ac-curate translation. What are the minimum requirements of their translators and interpreters regard-

ing their education, credentials, and experience? What quality con-trol steps will they take to ensure the end product is accurate? Second, ask for details about how they handle administrative issues. For example, do they use standardized contracts with their customers? How do they handle estimates? How are requests for reviews and complaints handled? One often misleading question is: How many employees do you have? Most language firms employ independent translators, not em-ployees, who may live across town, across the country, or on another continent. This hiring practice helps ensure you get the people with the background and qual-ity you need, when you need them, and at the best possible price.

how LANguAge CoMpANIeS ChArge For TheIr work Aside from references and qual-ity control processes, price obvi-ously matters. Although you may find a language company willing to donate some of its time, remember that the company may have out-of-pocket costs it may need you to pay, such as separate fees for contract translators who cannot donate their time to the project. Most of these firms will charge by the word for translation and editing, and by the page for typesetting. Most compa-nies will also quote you a total proj-ect price (based on an approved estimate), especially for complex ones such as bilingual forms or any type of legal document such as those relating to endowments. If there are differences from one ven-

dor proposal to another, it is likely that there were some variables one vendor addressed in their proposal and the other vendor left out be-cause they were not specifically outlined in the RFP.

whATeVer The LANguAge, you wILL probAbLy NeeD More With the exception of some Asian and Germanic languages, many translations will almost al-ways need more — more pages for a book or brochure, or more space on a Web site. That’s because transla-tion from English to Romance Lan-guages has a textual expansion rate of up to 30% above the source ma-terials. A translation project, if it’s your first, will most likely just take more time than you expected. Why does it take so long? Because transla-tion projects typically involve the work of more than one transla-tor. Every translation is edited by a second person. The job may also involve typesetters, proofreaders, and graphic designers. Such work takes time to coordinate, with mul-tiple quality checks among the project team members under the supervision of a project manager. So for a quality product, give yourself the time needed to pre-pare a complete RFP, and give your professional language company the time it needs to produce an ac-curate, professional translation.

Robert E. McLean, CAE, is Execu-tive Director of the Association of Language Companies, based in Ar-lington, VA. He may be reached at bmclean@alcus.org.

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A version of this article originally appeared in FundRaising Success Magazine, www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com.

People of all races and cultures share the virtues of compassion and generosity. Couple that fact with a rising middle class in many parts of the world, and user-friendly banking methods, and we are almost sure to see major growth in international fundraising in the coming years. These comments were made to me recently by Richard Pordes, a leading international fundraiser with UNICEF. Pordes ought to know. He introduced individual giving to UNICEF- Japan in 1992, and his organization now generates more than $100 million per year from Japanese contributors alone. Recently, Pordes told me that he is looking for significant growth among donors in Brazil, Mexico, China, India, Indonesia, and even Russia –- all countries with a growing middle class who are prepared to help solve social and environmental problems. Of course, fundraising in Western Europe has been popular for more than two decades. Now it appears compassionate and generous individuals in every country worldwide will help when they are asked.

reASoNS To STArT AN INTerNATIoNAL progrAM So, is this a time to set your sights beyond the United States and transform your domestic program into a worldwide cause? Erica Waasdorp of DMW Worldwide spent years developing the monthly giving program for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) in several countries, and suggests the following key qualifiers to help you decide if international outreach is right for your organization. Consider going international:

• If it expands the mission of your organization to a new country. For example, IFAW saw a number of pressing animal welfare needs in Australia, and developed a program there.

• If your organization is already working abroad. It may make sense to expand your fundraising efforts in those countries you already serve.

• If it offers you growth potential, especially if your type of cause does not already have other fundraisers in the market.

going gLobAL Is it an option for you?

Tom Hurley, President, Not-for-Profit Division, DMW Worldwide

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• If your organization has the support and encouragement of your board, and the will to make a major financial and time commitment to make the program successful.

International programs that are most likely to succeed focus on medical research, humanitarian relief, religious affiliations, animal welfare, and the protection of children. Geoff Peters, president of Creative Direct Response, warns that organizations that are focused only on solving domestic problems will find it very difficult to make an impact overseas. Donors there perceive the U.S. as wealthy, and would rather choose to donate locally, or to causes in the Third World. While researching this article, I spoke with many international consultants and development professionals. All strongly agreed on one point: You must be willing to have a local presence in each country where you develop a donor program. Visit the country first, both online and in person, attend conferences, make friends, and learn to understand the culture of the country. Learn about banking practices, currency exchange rates, charity regulations, and privacy rules that are much different than in the US. Open and staff an office in each country. In developed countries, hire the most experienced fundraising consultant you can find, and be prepared to make a multi-year investment. And, like any domestic start-up, don’t expect to show net revenue for at least three to five years. When you do start, you’re likely to find the economics quite a bit different than you do back home. Response rates can be three to five times better than here in the US. But much higher costs including postage, lists, production, and data processing can offset the gains of higher response rates.

There are a number of ways to make the numbers work for you:

• You might consider printing your direct mail less expensively in the US, and then shipping the mail to the destination country.

• Or, you may launch a Committed Giver program in which the donor can order their bank to make automatic monthly, quarterly, or annual contributions. Popular in the UK and other European countries, Committed Giving programs typically enjoy high

retention rates and annual gifts totaling $60 to $80 per year or more. The lifetime value of donors who make automatic gifts soars. Loyalty is high, and the cost to maintain the donor is low, because constant appeal letters are not necessary.

John Graham, a Virginia Beach-based consultant who works for Christian causes, begins by creating a three-year financial model that includes a disciplined approach based on reading test results before committing significant financial resources. [He has seen too many “seat-of-the-pants efforts” that dump some money into a country, then later disappoint the well-meaning but unprepared nonprofit organizations they helped create.]

cont

inue

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International programs that are most likely to succeed focus on medical research,

humanitarian relief, religious affiliations, animal welfare,

and the protection of children.

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where Do you STArT?Assuming you have the will and the resources to begin an international fundraising program, where do you start? Adrian Batt, Principal Consultant for Fundi International Marketing in the UK, suggests four criteria to consider when beginning an international outreach effort:

1. THE SIzE AND SOPHISTICATION OF THE MARKET. In Europe, the bigger countries of the UK, Germany, and France provide the greatest oppor-tunity, and what you learn there can usually apply to the smaller countries. However, Batt warns about making the mistake of view-ing Europe as a single market. De-spite the move toward a common currency, the cultures, politics, and bureaucratic requirements vary considerably from country to country. Beyond Europe, English-speaking Australia and South Af-rica hold promise, but are limited by their populations.

2. LIST AVAILABILITY. If direct mail is the primary medium, use recognized “in-country” list bro-kers, or a US broker with genuine international experience. If you are mailing from the US, have the merge-purge performed in the country in which you are operating. Address structures vary consider-ably, and US match codes can’t handle the job. And be aware that data protection is a serious issue. When operating in Europe, you must comply with the European Data Protection Directive.

3. LANGUAGE. For a first step, it’s easier to expand into an English-speaking country. You’ll find it relatively easy to deal with service providers, and to adapt your US materials. But remember that UK English is not the same as US Eng-lish. “It’s not just the spelling,” according to Batt, who has raised funds in South Africa and the UK for more than 20 years. “It’s also the phraseology used -- so have it checked by a ‘local’. Wherever you use a foreign language, look for an

‘in-country’ translator/copywrit-er -- and have their work double-checked. Many translators aren’t copywriters, so the subtle nuances of the copy can be lost. So, when you find a good one, use them con-sistently; they will get a better un-derstanding of your organization, and this can improve the quality of the translation.” Batt added that non-English translations can play havoc with design. For example, Latin languages normally take up about 30% more space than Eng-lish to convey the same informa-tion.

4. FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS. Does the exchange rate make it a viable proposition? Can you take the funds raised out of the country, or do they have to be used within the country? The introduction of the Euro across many European countries has made the currency situation easier to manage.

Peters, too, looked at the question of where to start -- in terms of the mission of the organization. He noted that Catholic charities are likely to be more successful in Spain,

France, or Poland than in Germany, because of the religious make-up of those countries. And he noted that Western Europeans are more likely to support humanitarian causes focused on Africa, while Asians, for whatever reason, respond to appeals for Latin America and the Caribbean.

our LegACy When I step back from looking at all the individual countries, programs, techniques, and possible barriers involved in this process, I see the greater good brought on by international donor fundraising. Would you agree that when tens of millions of caring people from all nations freely contribute to help solve the problems of fellow humans, no matter where they live, we might see real progress toward world peace? Now, that would make a great legacy for international fundraisers!

Tom Hurley is president of the not-for-profit division of DMW Worldwide. DMW Worldwide is a full-service direct response advertising agency with offices in Wayne, PA; St. Louis, MO; and Plymouth, MA. You can reach Tom at 774.773.1200, or thurley@dmwdirect.com.

Going GLoBAL,cont. from page 7

do YoU HAVe A ToPIC YoU WAnT To Be CoVeRed In THe

E-mail your suggestions tojmurphy@the-dma.org

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If you did not attend Critical Issues this April, I hope you have a chance to next year: knowing the rules and regulations governing your work is es-sential to the nonprofit’s compliance and financial accountability. Critical Issues is a smaller event for the Federation, bringing together 60-100 non-profit and fundraising experts, as well as attorneys and policy experts. It’s a great chance to get the full view of the policy concerns you need to be aware of for the coming year, so that you can plan your bud-get and your upcoming campaigns according-ly. Based on this event, we seem to face two “crises” of the mo-ment — postal delivery, for which I will reserve comment for another column and through our other publications; and commercial offer-ings to make e-mail senders pay to send their e-mail in order to reach recipients and avoid SPAM filters. During Critical Issues, we focused on plans by companies such as AOL and Goodmail to apply a new business model to Internet communications to afford e-mail senders a secure way to communicate with their potential customers. AOL recently an-nounced a certified e-mail program to e-mail send-ers who can bypass SPAM filters for a fee and get guaranteed access to recipients’ in-boxes. Everyone can agree that a typical user’s e-mail in-box can accept only a few hundred e-mails before

the user turns off the computer or flings it across the room. Spamming, phishing, and other Internet scams must be prevented -- and the DMANF has a series of ethical guidelines that you need to abide by as a member. But the idea of adding a cost, and qualifications, for Internet usage (beyond a monthly hook-up fee) has toppled some assumptions. The very essence of the Internet revolution itself — that communications over the Internet should be free and unencumbered

to allow for the growth of the new communica-tions frontier, and to fos-ter free expression, has been dampened by com-mercial considerations. In fact, some non-profits and consumer groups are extremely concerned that the com-panies holding the reigns of the Internet such as Yahoo and AOL are go-

ing too far and creating a new uneven playing field for organizations and individuals that wish to speak to potential donors/activists/supporters. Due to these concerns, in early March, AOL an-nounced that it would offer “qualified” nonprofit organizations two new ways to meet their needs of having e-mail delivered to AOL members more se-curely. Under this new option, qualifying not-for-profit organizations and advocacy organizations will receive the full functionality of AOL’s e-mail system, including having images and Web links en-abled in mail, and delivery to e-mail boxes of AOL

Crisis of the Moment e-Mail sender Certification Challenges the nonprofit Community Senny Boone, Esq., Executive Director, DMANF

some nonprofits and consumer groups are

extremely concerned that companies such as Yahoo and AOL are creating a

new uneven playing field

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at no charge to either the sender or recipients. But adding the phrase “qualifying” to such an offering is like waving a red flag to these organizations, many of which spend most of their time “qual-ifying” under the complex schemes of state, local, and federal regulations. Despite these offerings, it will be a difficult process for resource-poor nonprofits to take the needed steps. Nonprofits that choose to participate need a simple, even-handed way to qualify for this new system, and it will be a difficult road ahead should a char-ity need an immediate call to action on an area of help needed, when the certifying company has not approved that charity. Certainly, this matter needs further scrutiny by the nonprofit community to ensure there is a good balance be-tween our need to communicate, ad-vocate, and seek essential resources, and the need to prevent SPAM and other Internet scams from blocking any such communications. Be cer-tain that some form of legislation will be introduced soon, at least at the state level. We plan to try to ensure that “qualifying” for such an offering does not become an impossibility and another added hurdle for this sector -- and we will keep you up-to-date on developments.

DirectLInk ONLINE is a searchable collection of high quality, highly relevant, and reliable information resource carefully selected and compiled by The DMA Library & Resource Center as a value added member service.

It provides dMA Members 24/7 access to state-of-the-art information and statistics regarding direct and interactive marketing trends and usage. Included are abstracts and full-text articles from hundreds of direct marketing and related business magazines, newspapers, and newsletters, as well as, over 4,500 eCHo campaign case studies, executive summaries of research reports, White Papers, and dMA brochures, and guidelines. dMA staff, as well as other industry experts covering industry issues, trends, statistics, facts, and techniques contribute to the information-rich content.

You can access DMA’s DirectLINK Online through the Web site www.the-dma.org by using your DMA Member Login and password.

1� 1�

Spanish language marketing examples for the Cystic Fibrosic Foundation

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if you have to come up with an entirely new angle for your offer.

After creative issues like this one were ironed out, the mailing lists needed to be selected. The challenge here was finding the best lists for the lowest overall cost per thousand. In CF Foundation’s English-language campaigns, we rely heavily on exchanges to keep costs down. Although CF Foundation did not have Spanish names to offer to other list owners, we were able to negotiate some exchanges by offering English names in return. We knew that Spanish-speaking donor lists were likely to give us the best response. We included every Spanish-speaking donor list on the market in our mail plan. All two of them. More lists were needed. We branched out. The final mail plan included subscribers, book buyers, lists with Hispanic overlays, and large modeling databases. There are over 1,500 Hispanic lists on the market. About one-fourth of them allow you to target true Spanish-speaking individuals. The majority of the lists use surnames or other types of enhancements to identify Hispanics.

Lesson 2: In list language, Hispanic and Spanish-speaking are worlds apart. If your mailing piece is written in Spanish, make sure you reach people who read Spanish. Be especially careful with surname overlay files. Having a Spanish-sounding name is one

thing. Speaking the language is another.

CF Foundation’s initial test mailing dropped in July 2003. The mailing lists ran the gamut from “must tests” to “we need names, so let’s try it and see what happens.” Results were astounding. Not only was gross response substantially higher than CF

Foundation’s English-language mailings, but donation amounts were higher than expected. The test mailing was a success. Initially, we were concerned that because there are so few Spanish-speaking donor lists on the market, there might not be enough names for CF Foundation to roll out to on a regular basis. We found, however, that unlike

English-language mailings, the Spanish-language non-donor lists worked well, and in some cases, better than donor lists.

Lesson 3: Test first, and then cast judgment. CF Foundation could easily have assessed the Spanish-language list market and decided not to mail because there were so few donor lists. Had they done that, they would have lost out on a substantial revenue center.

It’s now two years down the line, and CF Foundation mails their Spanish piece bimonthly. They have more than enough names to mail. List types that generally don’t work for CF Foundation’s English-language offers are working in Spanish. More importantly, analyses show that Spanish donors are younger than their English counterparts. For a fundraiser, this is key. The younger the donor, the more time they have ahead to give. Was the reward worth the risk for CF Foundation? You decide. By 2010, Hispanics are expected to be the second largest race/ethnic group in the country. The U.S. Department of Commerce projects that by 2050, one out of every four American residents will be Hispanic. CF Foundation has established a presence in the early growth stages of a blossoming market.

Martin A. Stein is president and CEO of RMI Direct Marketing, Inc., a list brokerage and management firm that specializes in direct mail donor development. You can contact him at: mstein@rmidirect.com.

speaking a new Language,continued from cover

Asian—9%American

Indian—1%

Black—15%

Hispanic White

—22%

non-Hispanic White(non-Minority)—53%

Hispanic (any race)

—24%

non-Hispanic—76%

Percent distributionof U.s. Population

�0�0by Race

by HIsPAnIC oRIGIn

Total Population 393.9 million

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This article previously appeared in The NonProfit Times, www.nptimes.com

“Para Espanol, oprima el dos.”

National nonprofits have been using call centers for years, offering a bi-lingual option for donors as part of their overall service. More recently, the focus on the bilingual and multi-lingual aspect of fundraising has increased, due not only to a growing population of non-English-speaking resident Americans, but to one that is migrating throughout the nation as well. While larger nonprofits have the funds to outsource or build in-house bilingual call centers to tap into Hispanic communities, one smaller nonprofit -- the Insti-tute for Cultural Competency, in Portland, Ore. -- is utilizing cutting-edge call center technology to bridge the language divide for less -- and get more bang for their buck.

NoT JuST growINg, buT SpreADINg According to the United States Census Bureau, the U.S. Hispanic popula-tion more than doubled between 1980 and 2000, to 32.8 million. By 2005, that number ballooned to 42.8 million, and is expected to surpass 60 mil-lion by 2020. What was once an isolated population, Hispanics have also in recent years become dispersed throughout the nation, according to a 2005 study completed by Hispanic USA, Inc. In addition, 24 percent of U.S. Hispanics speak only Spanish, according to a 2004 Pew Hispanic Center study. The Hispanic USA study further chal-lenged the assumption that the use of Spanish will decrease -- with its find-ing that during the next two decades, the number of Spanish-dominant and bilingual Hispanics will increase by 45 percent. The study also found that of those respondents in 2005 who reported speaking Spanish at home, 49 per-cent spoke English “less than very well.” Another noteworthy element is the generous nature of this population -- despite the fact that the median income of U.S. Hispanics in 2004 was almost $15,000 less than the median income of non-Hispanic whites ($48,977, Cen-sus Bureau). A November 2005 article in The NonProfit Times reported that approximately 49 percent of Hispanics who donate earn $25,000 or less. And Census Bureau statistics showed that in 2004, remittances (money sent to support family members) to Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) reached over $40 billion -- the majority from low-income immigrant communities.

Speaking the LanguageCreating Virtual Bilingual Call Centers Without a Big InvestmentMarla E. Nobles, Staff Writer, The NonProfit Times

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VIrTuAL oFFICe SpACe

A 10-year veteran of the $250 million-plus annual interpreta-tion services industry, Jim Manc-zak was all too familiar with mis-communication across cultures when he founded the Institute for Cultural Competency (ICC) in 2004. The objective of the non-profit is to provide the growing population of non-English-speak-ing Americans access to trained interpreters so they can fully inte-grate, and receive basic services such as health care. That same year, the Institute was awarded a contract from the State of Florida to provide interpreting services for the Florida Depart-ment of Health and all the county health departments. Florida is home to more than 3 million His-panics, according to the Census Bureau. Miami, in particular, is home to 67 percent of the nation’s Cuban-American population. The demand to connect myriad interpreters to, and take inbound calls from, non- or limited-Eng-lish-speaking Americans in Flor-ida was a pressing one. Working with a limited budget, and not in the business of fundraising, the Institute could not afford the cost of erecting a building to house the call center. And outsourcing a center either offshore or some-where in the Midwest -- where the bulk of U.S. call centers are located -- would require employ-ees at times “to actually go there, and that was not in our budget, to travel to India or other exotic des-tinations,” says Manczak. “It would have been an enor-mous and very difficult task to pull together the kinds of funds we’d need just for the infrastruc-

ture of a call center,” he reports. Solution: Manczak forewent the traditional call center, and instead retained the services of a hosted, virtual PBX.

A New wAyTo ADDreSS ANoLD ChALLeNge

Some charities have begun to use a variation on the old PBX telephone systems to address their fundraising needs. Com-monplace in the 1950s, the origi-nal version of PBX involved a large piece of hardware -- the switch-board – and an operator to work it. When a call came in, a hole in the switchboard lit up, and the opera-tor plugged a phone jack into the lit hole to answer the call. Today, the concept has achieved warp speed -- utilizing entire phone systems, and making obsolete the switchboard, and the bricks-and-mortar “ call center.” “The new hosted PBX system has allowed people to do some-thing they could never do before, and it’s really catching on,” says Greg Brashier, vice president of marketing for Virtual PBX in San Jose, Calif. According to Brashier, rather than buy tens of thousands of dol-lars worth of PBX phone equip-ment, a small- or medium-sized nonprofit can simply contract with a hosted PBX provider who will perform the “call center” service. The equipment is shared by numerous clients, thus distrib-uting the costs. With hosted PBX, a nonprofit can set up a “call center” for a monthly fee, and have calls rout-

ed anywhere to any phone in any time zone. A nonprofit in need of offering bilingual services, for example, hires its own bilingual agents -- at 25 cents to $1 more per hour than their monolingual counterparts, according to pro-fessionals but the service is main-tained by the PBX provider, so there is no extra cost for support. Hosted PBX also offers automatic call distribution queuing (a com-puter dials multiple donors’ num-bers at one time and only routes to agents the ones that are an-swered), a key feature of the tradi-tional hardware PBX. Today, using hosted PBX, Manczak’s organization is able to offer nationwide access to 2,500 interpreters who collectively speak more than 150 languages and dialects, with Spanish being the most popular language. “Set-ting up a call center that links over 150 different languages to-gether to customers that need it on demand, 24 hours a day, at almost no capital, is an incredible benefit,” said Manczak. “Looking at our calls today (first week of January, 2006), we’ve had 189 calls, and it’s very hands-off. I don’t even worry about it.”

A wIDe rANge oF poSSIbILITIeS

There are some drawbacks to the system. A relatively new tech-nology, few hosted providers offer all the functions of the standard hardware PBX (e.g., the ability to transfer a call to another ex-tension within a company). And because a computer does the dial-ing in a hosted PBX, the Federal Trade Commission mandates that

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only 3 percent of calls per campaign per day can be abandoned. An abandoned call is a computer-dialed call that isn’t responded to when answered, because an agent isn’t available. With hosted PBX, the call agents are not housed together in a single building, so there is less oversight capability. But the benefits are outweighing the drawbacks for ICC and others. According to Manczak and Brashier, this technology can be utilized by non-profits for recruiting volunteers, fundraising, and for special events, among other outreach activities within the Hispanic community. “Just a little bit of extra capability – ‘For Spanish, press two. Para Espanol, oprima el dos’ – sends the calls now to a whole different group of people,” Brashier says, “and adds a whole range of services that smaller nonprofits couldn’t otherwise provide.”

Marla Nobles is a staff writer at The NonProfit Times. The NPT is free to qualified senior executives at nonprofit organizations. Go to www.nptimes.com to sign up.

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This article is the first of a two-part opinion piece by postal reform analyst Murray B. Comarow. Part II will be presented in the September issue of the Journal.

There exists a government agency that employs almost three-quarters of a million people. It is vital to the existence of thousands of private sector enterprises that employ some nine million workers. It represents over eight percent of the national economy. It touches virtually every home and business every day. It is the U.S. Postal Service, and it is in big trouble, largely due to external forces. Few Americans know that. The Congress and the White House know it, and are about to make things worse, as they did in creating the De-partment of Homeland Security and “reforming” the Internal Rev-enue Service.

reForM or DIe… Both the Postal Service’s Board of Governors and a 2003 presiden-tial commission said it must be reformed if it is to survive. Comptrol-ler General David Walker has placed it on a “High Risk” list, calling it “unsustainable.” Congressional committees have been working on reform for the last eleven years. The House passed a reform bill, H.R. 22, on July 26, 2005. The Senate passed a similar bill, S. 662, on February 9, 2006. (The Senate accepted the “H.R. 22” designa-tion, dropping “S. 662,” so I will employ “H.R. 22” for this article.) Differences between the bills are to be ironed out in conference. If enacted without substantial change, H.R. 22 is likely to have a se-verely negative impact on all who rely on the mail.

how NoT to reform the uSpS

part IMurray B. Comarow, Fellow, National Academy of Public Administration

Both versions of H.R. 22 were publicly supported by most mailers. I say “publicly” because some of their leaders have privately expressed serious con-cerns. One described the House bill as an abomi-nation, adding that the Senate bill was not quite as bad. Yet he and others in the same camp publicly acclaimed passage of both bills. Of the two largest postal unions, one supports H.R. 22, the other op-poses it. Of the two postmasters associations, the larger supports the bills, the other has not taken a po-sition. Postal competitors such as the United Parcel Service are pleased with the bills. Think about that. On May 20, 1996, in a Washington Post op-ed piece, several colleagues and I argued that the Postal Service should be reformed. Indeed, it must be if it is to continue to provide good and affordable univer-sal service. The 1970 statute that changed the old patronage-saturated, tax-supported Post Office De-partment was a huge step forward. The USPS is self-supporting, and patronage is forbidden by the 1970 law. The Congress demanded then, and has contin-ued to demand ever since, that the Postal Service op-erate like a business. Trouble is, it can’t.

…buT STILL be reguLATeD The same 1970 law created a regulatory agency, the Postal Rate Commission (PRC), that effectively decides the price of stamps. (The nine postal gov-ernors can reverse the PRC, but only under certain conditions and only if they are unanimous. Happens about every 10 years.) The same statute provides for collective bargain-ing on wages. If there is a wage impasse, the dispute goes to an independent arbitrator who decides how much postal workers will be paid. No other U.S. gov-ernment agency is burdened with this procedure. Arbitrators are not responsible for the financial well-being of the agency, yet they, not postal managers, control 80 percent of its costs. Any move to merge postal facilities, or close them, must run legal and political gauntlets, but Congressional pressure to cut costs and be businesslike continues unabated. The process is daunting.

CLAShINg goALS ThroTTLeprogreSS The current reform bills had their roots in the House of Representatives, spearheaded by Congress-man John McHugh, 11 years ago. The drafts, amend-ments, hearings, and reports fill many linear feet of shelves, but diverse interests within the mailing com-munity, and the clashing goals of mailers, unions, postmasters, and competitors throttled progress. The Postal Service itself stood on the sidelines much of that decade, having decided that it would waste whatever political capital it had in a futile effort to seek relief from its statutory constraints. In that atmosphere, I and a few others began to beat the drums for a presidential commission, a step I would not normally favor. Most such commissions fail, either by appointing the wrong people, or by ill-defined objectives, or by design. Some do succeed, however, and since the normal political process was in gridlock, we presented our views to the Clinton and Bush administrations, to postmasters general and postal governors, and to the mailing community in articles and speeches.

The SeVeN TAke A STAND As governors and stakeholders became aware that standing pat was a recipe for disaster, pressure on the White House mounted, and on December 11, 2002, the President established a bipartisan commis-sion. Its July 31, 2003 report included a number of useful and sensible recommendations, and some that gave me concern, but the latter are not pertinent to this essay. What is pertinent is that on February 7, 2006, two and a half years after their report, seven of the nine presidential commission members (“The Seven”), signed a letter to Senate and House leaders, opposing H.R. 22. The Seven concluded that “the Postal Service has very little control over the major-ity of its costs,” almost 80 percent of which are labor-connected. Not giving the Postal Service such ability, the commissioners said, would inevitably diminish universal service or transfer postal costs to taxpayers.

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Even more important, they charged that the bills further eroded the Postal Service’s ability to operate like a business. On February 12, 2006, on another issue, George Will wrote: “Civilization depends on the ability to make even majorities blush, so it is mo-mentous news that shame may be making a come-back, even on Capitol Hill.” For well over three decades, Congress has demanded that the USPS act like a business, while making it impossible for it to do so. I have never heard any member of Congress even acknowledge this contradiction, much less seem embarrassed by it. The Seven also took on the vastly increased power of the PRC under H.R. 22. “Giving the regulator the ability to receive, adjudicate, and order remedies on virtually any complaint on any action the Postal Ser-vice takes essentially transfers oversight and opera-tional authority from the Board of Governors and management to the regulator. This is a governance model that simply won’t work.” That seven former commissioners would as-semble so long after their report is extraordinary. It received almost no media attention, a sad com-mentary on the media. I’m guessing that The Seven came to the fray as a result of bitter accusations by Senators Collins and Carper: “The Postal Service appears to have sunk to a new low.” They claimed that the USPS broke its promise “at the last minute” not to oppose the legislation, an assertion flatly de-nied by postal officials in its January 27, 2006 letter. They charged that the USPS misled senators “about what’s in S. 662 in an effort to block it.”

The bog FoLLowS The Board of Governors did express concern about the legislation a number of times since 1996, although not as specifically as it might have. Their September 13, 2005 letter, how-ever, was clear, saying that the Board would prefer no reform at all to the legislation being considered. The Collins/Carper blast struck me as lacking civility; it may have resulted from a communications breakdown, since

Board Chairman Jim Miller and PMG Jack Potter are too smart and experienced to put themselves in such an untenable position. Given the reasoned and bipartisan judgment of the Governors and The Seven, why do most mailers support this legislation? They believe that H.R. 22 will give them relief on the escrow and military pen-sion issues, and that improvements will be made in the Senate-House Conference.

Reprinted with the permission of the National Academy of Public Administration. The views ex-pressed in this document are those of the author alone. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the Academy as an institution.

Murray B. Comarow was elected as a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration in 1974 and served on the organization’s board of directors. He was executive director of President Johnson’s Commission on Postal Organization in 1967-1968, and executive director of President Nixon’s Advisory Council on Executive Organization in 1970-1971. He served as senior assistant postmaster general and a partner at Booz, Al-len. He can be reached at 301.229.4187 or Profcomarow1@veri-zon.net.

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On the southern coast of Spain, halfway up the Rock of Gibraltar, live native monkeys that will steal your sunglasses. Believe it. I lost a great pair of Guccis that way. But why, you may ask, are the monkeys interested in posh shades? The answer is simple, and it’s not because they like going incognito. What at-tracts the animals to these objects is the glitter that’s produced when specs of sun beam from their surfaces. Minimally stated, it’s the shine that gets ’em every time. Similarly, that’s what young professionals take into account when decid-ing when and where to donate. The process is certainly more complicated, but the concept is the same. We’re attracted to aesthetics. Bottom line. You see, all our lives, we’ve been spoon-fed flashy, fancy marketing. In-terchanging billboards. Glossy magazine ads. Internet Pop-ups. It’s ad-vertising at its best. This form of media has become such a part of our daily lives that innovation is the only way to capture and keep our attention. If it’s not laden with luster, you can forget it. We’ve got better things to do. Our MySpace pages await. Many believe that there’s little desire to donate among Millennials and Gen X’ers – the given monikers for the adult generations of 20- to 40-year-olds. But there is. That statement may seem contradictory to the response rates of any par-ticular campaign, but have you accurately assessed the reason? Could it be that while focusing on the “true” direct marketing donor demographic -- age 60 and older -- you’ve overlooked the other 300 million of us who have billions of dollars to burn?

an integrated-marketing odysseyMichael Knipp, Copywriter/Editor, Creative Direct Response

2006:

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pop uS To STop uS It’s true, we live fast lives. Ours is a culture filled with iPods, IMs, and American Idols. With all that swirling sensationalism in our world, we don’t have time for marketing that doesn’t meet our standards. To make us stop, it has to pop. When we enter our ur-ban dwellings, having just spent eight grueling hours at corporate headquarters and then a few more whipping ourselves into shape at the gym, we can’t be bothered by lackluster direct mail pieces that refuse to speak our language. It’s the last thing on our minds. A #10 envelope with plain-Jane imaging and a tired old teaser? You’ve gotta do better than that. Besides, Lost starts at 9:00 P.M. sharp. Coincidentally, if your package doesn’t engage us, that’s exactly what your ill-fated attempt becomes -- lost.

Try hArDer There’s hope, though. We encourage you to try again. But we ask that next time you at least make a concerted effort. We ea-gerly want you to stray from the beaten path, to steer clear of the road most traveled. You might not believe this, but we’re ready and willing to donate to those who recognize our needs. Build it, and they will come. Or, in this case, pay attention to us, please, and you’ll be surprised at how we respond. Think it’s all an elaborate trap? Fodder for an impending down-fall? An unfilled space to end up with egg on your face? It’s not. We want you to succeed with us. Simply strive.

TAke A LeSSoNFroM LAF Take the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF), for instance. When Armstrong won his sixth consecutive Tour de France, sure, it put him on our radar. But when every 20-something in America started donning those ubiqui-tous yellow bracelets, we all took notice. And we bought them. In bulk. Fifty-eight million bands later – which translates to ma-jor cash for the Foundation – the entire world knows his name and his cause. What’s more? Many of

us haven’t taken them off. Three years later and we’re still promot-ing the crusade against cancer. Uh huh, behold the power of pla-cation. In all fairness, that particular phenomenon had nothing to do with direct-mail. It can be argu-ably attributed largely to word-of-mouth and massive coverage by the mainstream media. The celebrity endorsement, of course, didn’t hurt matters. But what

propelled the Foundation to the forefront of philanthropy was in-tegrated marketing and creative cultivation. LAF’s core giving de-mographic contains mostly Mil-lennials and Gen X’ers. There’s a reason why.

geT CooL – AND TeCh SAVVy You may balk at what’s coming next, because it perhaps seems trite, but: you shouldn’t discount the effectiveness of a campaign’s coolness – especially among those who value it so much. My generation prides itself on being Web-savvy, growing up tech-taught. We like that we chat in Java while our parents are still sipping it. We can tell you what the acronyms HTML, JPEG, and PDF mean. We don’t have land lines, but rather rely on RAzRs for all our calls. Yes, we’re on the cutting edge of technology, and we can’t comprehend life any oth-er way. In order to appeal to our digi-tal senses, show us what we know. Reach us by MP3, Podcasts, DRTV. Broadcast using voice technology. Send us e-mail blasts. We’re in a hurry, and if you can’t catch us in a .wav file or a 20-sec-ond cyber-spot, then all other at-tempts may prove futile.

TAke FIVe The point, however longwind-ed, is that according to Iconocul-ture – the leader in consumer re-search and advisory services – we Millennials and Gen X’ers value:

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…More than nine in 10 Americans gave to a charitable organization in the past year, according to a new donorPulse survey by Harris Interactive.

2. Diversity3. Empowerment4. Belonging5. Connectivity Bland, one-sided fundraising doesn’t take any of these values into account. This knowledge should serve as a reputable resource, though, because the answers you seek lie in these five words. Identify with our diversity. Em-power us. Make us feel welcome. Keep us connected. If you grant us those few courte-sies, we’ll do our best not to disap-point. If all else fails, well, just inun-date us with dazzle. We’re clearly not as primitive as those sunglass-

es-stealing primates, but we, too, are suckers for a smattering of sparkle.

Michael A. Knipp is a 25-year-old Millennial and chief copywriter/editor at Creative Direct Response, an agency in Crofton, Md., that specializes in raising funds for nonprofits. He can be reached at mknipp@cdr-nfl.com or by visiting www.cdrfg.com.

But the survey of 2,720 adults also found that older age groups view charitable or-ganizations more skeptically. When asked whether they agree that “most charitable organizations are honest and ethical in their use of donations,” one-third of those age 65 and older disagree, compared with 16% of those ages 18 to 24.

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As nonprofit organizations accumulate experience with planning and ex-ecuting online programs, best practices are emerging — particularly in the area of online direct response fundraising. Likewise, technology advances in Internet marketing and fundraising are enabling more sophisticated ap-proaches and, consequently, stronger results. Here’s a look at best practices and technologies that nonprofits can use to establish more effective direct response fundraising programs.

buILDINg CoNSTITueNT e-MAIL FILeS There is growing appreciation throughout the nonprofit sector for the importance of building constituent e-mail files. Today’s Internet-savvy or-ganizations realize that having a constituent’s e-mail address allows them to cultivate, motivate, mobilize, and solicit constituents at nominal costs. They also realize that having an e-mail address and communicating in an integrat-ed fashion lifts donor value. Successful groups focus on “organic” e-mail file growth tactics: maximiz-ing the percentage of people who convert on their Web sites from visitors to subscribers; running “viral campaigns” in which people forward messages to their friends; and collecting e-mail addresses offline at events and on direct mail reply devices. E-mail list rentals and exchanges are not nearly as effec-tive, because they violate consumers’ expectations about permission-based marketing, whereby a consumer directly volunteers his or her e-mail address and agrees to receive communications from a specific organization.

AppeALINg To CoNSTITueNTS Many nonprofits are becoming more systematic about converting e-mail subscribers to donors, and renewing existing Web donors. As a best practice, nonprofits should establish a regular e-mail appeals calendar with 4 to 12 ap-peals planned in advance for the year, coordinated with direct mail efforts. Organizations also should plan to leverage newsworthy events for special “micro-campaigns.” Today’s most advanced online fundraising technology makes it easy to launch these special campaigns in minutes versus hours, so it is easy to be responsive to opportunities or needs.

Innovations onlinedirect Response fundraising drive ResultsVinay Bhagat, Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, Convio

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opTIMIzINg reSpoNSe Leading nonprofits realize, too, that they must move beyond the “one-size-fits-all” approach to on-line fundraising, and have begun tailoring their donation forms to specific campaigns. Ensuring that the donation form matches the overall theme or brand of a cam-paign enhances conversion rates, as does removing unnecessary nav-igation options from the donation flow. Additionally, many organiza-tions now can test how campaign forms are configured. For exam-ple, should you ask an involvement question before or after someone selects a gift amount, or not at all? New innovations in online fund-raising technology make it easy for fundraisers to configure and launch custom donation forms matched to the theme of a campaign, apply their own messaging, and test the sequence that a constituent would have to go through in order to do-nate.

TeSTINg As e-mail files continue to grow, more groups have started e-mail “split cell” testing. Split cell test-ing involves creating several dif-ferent versions of a message (vari-ants) to test; creating the same number of randomly generated, equal-sized, small yet statistically meaningful samples from a list; sending the variants to the sample lists; assessing which variant per-formed the best; and utilizing the strongest performing variant for the full appeal. As an example, the

Anti-Defamation League recently ran a three-part split cell test vary-ing the subject line of an e-mail, and found that the top-performing message had a 15-percent higher open rate and an 81-percent higher click-through rate than the lowest performing message.

e-MAIL CAMpAIgNS Nonprofits also are getting more sophisticated in executing e-mail campaigns. New online fundraising technology makes it easy to create and send an automated sequence of e-mail appeals that targets the same list several times, suppress-ing respondents from subsequent asks. The second message (appeal) often has stronger messaging than the first. This practice helps drive a higher cumulative response rate from a list — similar to sending mul-tiple renewal requests in the postal mail.

INTegrATINg oNLINe AND oFFLINe ChANNeLS Nonprofits increasingly are embracing integrated marketing across channels. They are encour-aging people to go online to give a response to a direct mail ask. Some groups simply highlight their Web site’s home page, while others lead supporters to special URLs. To sup-port this practice, the best Internet fundraising solutions make it easy to create customized landing pages and donation forms with configu-rable Web addresses. This makes it easy to track the number of people who are going online to donate in response to a direct mail piece.

A related technique is the use of micro-sites, or stand-alone fund-raising or advocacy mini-Web sites with specific campaign-related branding and a unique Web ad-dress. Micro-sites are commonly used for high-profile campaigns that have their own brand. Non-profits also use this tactic when in-tegrating with direct response tele-vision or radio efforts. Advanced online tools enable organizations to quickly create such micro-sites, fine-tune them for donor conver-sion, and ensure that they are linked from a data perspective with the organization’s main Web site.

INCreASINgDoNor VALue Nonprofits that strategically em-brace the Internet are developing new ways to increase contributions and donor value. Many groups en-courage monthly gifts online versus one-time contributions. Monthly donors not only have a much higher annual donor value, but also renew at much higher rates. New online fundraising technology enables nonprofits to effectively manage monthly/sustaining giving pro-grams using credit cards and bank debiting (EFT). Nonprofits also are able to lever-age new Internet fundraising tools to drive matching gifts. With these tools, a group can include employer look-up and matching gift informa-tion directly in “thank you” Web pages and e-mail auto-responders that online donors see right after they complete their transaction. Additionally, organizations are providing more online choices for

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donors as a way to improve value. Some groups, for example, pro-mote designated giving, which al-lows donors to apply all of a gift to one campaign or allocate their gifts among several specific initiatives. In summary, Internet fundrais-ing continues to grow rapidly as more consumers move online and become increasingly comfortable transacting through this new me-dium. The organizations that will maximize their performance on-line are those that are proactive and deliberate, and move quickly when it comes to online market-ing. And, while technology is not a “silver bullet,” advances in online fundraising technology empower nonprofits to utilize these best practices and generate stronger re-sults. Vinay Bhagat is the founder, chair-man, and chief strategy officer of Convio, Inc. He can be reached at vinay@convio.com.

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Nonprofit Federation members may recall DMA’s announcement several months ago that the DMA Board of Directors approved a new ethics guideline requiring members – including nonprofits – to au-thenticate their outgoing e-mails. The guideline (which went into effect February 1, 2006) states: “Marketers that use e-mail for communication and transaction purposes should adopt and use identifi-cation and authentication protocols.”

What does authenticating e-mail mean, and why should your nonprofit organization care about it? Basically, authenticating e-mail protects the in-tegrity of senders’ brands, and improves the likeli-hood that legitimate e-mail gets through to its intended recipient. E-mail authen-tication reduces spam and phishing attacks, thus mak-ing the electronic market-place more secure. Your nonprofit organization, as well as commercial mar-keters, needs to make sure that messages are deliver-able, and that consumers have confidence that your messages are actually from your organization’s e-mail domain. As noted when the guideline was an-nounced, it’s a “win-win for everybody” to protect brands against illegal use.

How do you authenticate your e-mail? E-mail authentication is easy to do, and there are several interoperable and inexpensive ways to do it. The two major types of e-mail authentica-tion technology are IP-based and cryptographic, both of which have the same goal: to create a public record against which to validate e-mail messages

so that the legitimacy of senders can be verified. Your organization’s IT personnel or your e-mail service provider can easily and quickly create such a public record of your domain names.

A few additional notes: Since the guideline went into effect, one of the main questions DMA has received concerns what e-mail messages should be authenticated. Only your outbound e-mail needs to be authen-ticated. However, this includes all outbound e-mail you send (or that your service provider sends on your behalf), not just requests for donations. Con-firmations of donations or purchases and any other e-mail communications should also be authenti-cated as an extra measure to ensure legitimacy to

recipients.

Resources: This brief article was not meant to give you a soup-to-nuts explanation or take you through the e-mail authentication process, but rather to inform you of the new guideline, and its benefits to your organization and

the industry in general, and to reassure you that implementation is easy and inexpensive. Much more information is available at www.the-dma.org/antispam, including a detailed FAQ and Best Practices document and a listing of DMA mem-bers who can help in your authentication efforts. Any questions can also be e-mailed to DMA at ethics@the-dma.org.

Marsha Goldberger is the DMA’s Director, Eth-ics and Consumer Affairs and may be reached at mgoldberger@the-dma.org.

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DMA’s e-Mail Authentication requirementMarsha Goldberger, Director, Ethics & Consumer Affairs, Direct Marketing Association

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Direct marketing is critical to nonprofit organizations; when utilized correctly, it is an effective method to spread the word about your organization and its mission, inspire action, collect donations, and re-cruit volunteers and members. A direct marketing campaign, however, is only as effective as the database an organization uses to collect and manage constituent in-formation. Implementing a social constituent re-lationship management (SCRM) system transforms the manner in which your or-ganization interacts with donors, mem-bers, prospects, volunteers, and par-ticipants. The right system will help you develop more strategic and personalized communications, improving direct mar-keting results. This article will describe how using social CRM can transform your online marketing, e-mail marketing, viral marketing, and database marketing.

how IT workS

A social CRM system enables organi-zations to drive all interactions based on a comprehensive knowledge of constitu-ents, providing relevant information to personalize communications, making them more relevant to targeted audience segments. In fact, a social CRM system unites the online and offline constituent experience, providing the totality of a constituent’s relationship to your organi-zation, and allowing you to drive strategy through this global view. The knowledge you gather, store, and manage in your social CRM system is criti-

cal to improving your direct marketing results. Understanding constituent inter-ests, preferences, and personal contacts, while viewing financial transactions, vol-unteer activities, event attendance, and other methods of involvement, allows organizations to manage their messages and approach their supporters strategi-cally. By capturing this full range of infor-mation in a single platform, a social CRM system provides the knowledge needed to increase direct marketing success.

SCrM AND oNLINeMArkeTINg

Your organization’s Web site should provide the foundation for a successful di-rect marketing campaign. This is the medi-um through which you should manage the message – using your Web site to collect valuable information about your constitu-ents’ interests and activities to store in the social CRM system. For example, if your organization’s cause is protecting wildlife, and your Web site contains links and infor-mation on saving whales and protecting elephants, a social CRM system will track the issues that spark your constituents’ in-terest, what they forward to their friends, and which e-communications they sign up for. This helps you gather and understand a constituent’s interests to better target direct marketing efforts. Your Web site also provides the most ef-fective means for inviting interaction from constituents, gathering donations and information, recruiting volunteers, and spreading the word about your cause. A

using Social CrMto Improve Direct Marketing Results Jon Thorsen, General Manager, Kintera Inc.

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Web site is an easy, cost-effective way to reach constituents, and can be the primary launching pad for collecting data to integrate within your marketing campaign and combine with other market-ing activities.

SCrM AND:DATAbASe MArkeTINg Effective database marketing uses the information gathered in your social CRM system to drive targeted marketing communi-cations and campaigns to your constituent database. The more information you can collect in your social CRM system, the eas-ier your organization can identify which constituents should be tar-geted by what messages, and what their preferences are for receiving marketing communications from you. A key aspect of social CRM -- data segmentation -- can further drive your marketing effective-ness. This feature allows you to ar-range your database into targeted groups by creating and saving seg-ments for your direct marketing campaigns. Social CRM systems can use simple folders to create and save segments and mailing lists based on profile, behavioral, and other data categories. For ex-ample, if your constituents con-sistently respond to e-newsletters about protecting elephants from ivory traders by clicking on your Web site link, a social CRM sys-tem will allow you to enter those constituents into the segment that receives communication on saving elephants.

e-MArkeTINg An organization can leverage the data in its social CRM system to segment e-mail campaigns that promote the organization and its cause. A social CRM system helps your organization send out e-mail and e-newsletter marketing that is targeted and customized de-pending on constituent interests, preferences, and even past finan-cial transactions. Extending the previous ex-ample, let’s say the data in your social CRM system shows that a constituent donated $500 to sav-ing elephants. The next e-market-ing you send to them could ask for donations in amounts equal to or greater than $500. In addition, the next e-newsletter you send could focus on the success of your organization’s ongoing campaign to save elephants from poachers that trade ivory on the black mar-ket.

VIrAL MArkeTINg Viral marketing is a strategy that encourages constituents to pass information about your or-ganization and its causes to other constituents. A social CRM system contains an interactive commu-nities component that enhances viral marketing. Interactive com-munities enable constituents to interact with one another accord-ing to shared interests, fostering a sense of involvement and im-proved communications. Your social CRM system needs to allow the sharing of content and data to help bring members together to achieve a common

goal for your organization. Inter-active features drive organiza-tions to achieve fundraising and program objectives, while creat-ing an extraordinary sense of ac-complishment and commitment among members. Interaction also encourages increased traffic to your site by providing a more meaningful experience than sites that merely offer static content. An effective social CRM sys-tem also enables constituents to share your direct marketing information with their friends and colleagues, recruiting them to support your cause. This op-tion should be made available on all e-mail and e-newsletter com-munications, but should also be utilized on your organization’s Web site. It works especially well with online action centers that help constituents advocate for your organization’s cause and for-ward information to others about making donations, signing up for fundraisers, or petitioning their senators to pass legislation that benefits your organization.

DIreCT MAIL MArkeTINg While online marketing activi-ties are typically more cost-effec-tive and produce a higher return on investment than printed mail pieces, many organizations like to use traditional direct mail mar-keting to promote their causes. But working offline to promote your organization is no reason not to use the information you’ve collected in your social CRM sys-tem. Targeting and tailoring the content of direct mail pieces and other offline activities can be ev-

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ery bit as effective as customizing e-mail and e-newsletter pieces. Reaching the right audience with the right messages helps build affinity for the mission, and im-proves return on investment.

SupporT ForANALyTICS A social CRM system should also support the analytical capa-bilities required to evaluate and report the success of your orga-nization’s direct marketing ini-tiatives. Reporting tools can help to determine which specific mes-sages lead constituents to open e-mail messages, which initiatives inspire donors to click through to an article or Web page, which pages constituents spend the most time reading on your Web site, and what content they for-ward to their friends. Nonprofit organizations fre-quently mistake direct marketing initiatives such as online, data-base, viral, and direct mail mar-keting, as well as e-marketing, as one-way communication. These activities, however, can provide valuable information about a con-stituent’s receptiveness to your organization’s messages. In ad-dition, a social CRM system will help you glean information about constituent preferences, inter-ests, and interaction.

reSuLTS Through perSoNALIzATIoN All of these direct market-ing initiatives can be made more successful through social CRM. The information you’ve collected both online and offline in your

social CRM system can prove vital to personalizing your com-munications, making them more meaningful to your constituents. Address your supporters by their first names, acknowledge their previous interests, acknowledge and report on their gifts – in short, let them know that you know and value the difference they make to your cause. Use social CRM

to make your constituents much more receptive to reading about, supporting, and donating to your organization.

Jon Thorsen is general man-ager, education and hospitals, for Kintera Inc. Prior to joining Kintera, Jon spent five years at the national headquarters of the American Red Cross. Visit Kin-tera online at www.kintera.com

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