e-Mail Marketing: Non-Profit Division

Earlier this week, I attended a Board Meeting at St. Francis House, which provides multiple services (life-sustaining and rehabilitative) for the poor and homeless in Boston. (Disclosure: I'm a long-time SFH board member, and a volunteer, but I have nothing whatsoever to do with their marketing - other than being a devoted, enthusiastic member of the SFH family.) Part of the meeting was given over to SFH's new online marketing efforts, which include e-mail marketing.

The presentation on the online work was probably over-long for most of the board members (lawyers, finance types, real estate developers....), but as a marketing person, I found it very interesting to see how our donations have picked up and how we're attracting younger donors, etc.

Then just yesterday I received a Thanksgiving e-mail from St. Francis House that included multiple links to online giving opportunities.

On Thanksgiving Day -- and every day -- St. Francis House gives our guests more than just a meal. We give them hope and a chance to rebuild their lives. With your support, we can help them change their lives for the better, and leave homelessness behind for good. And that is something to be thankful for.

With our special Thanksgiving gift catalog, St. Francis House has made it easy for you to give our guests a reason to give thanks. This simple online holiday giving catalog shows just how much of an impact your gift can have:

Just $25 dollars could buy a winter coat that makes the difference between life and death during a long, freezing night outside....

If went on in the same vein, but with ample opportunities to click through and make a donation at many different dollar levels. Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but I haven't seen this before from other non-profits. (Maybe I'm not on enough e-mail donor lists.) I'm guessing it will work out very well for St. Francis House. Those of you involved with non-profits might want to check it out. (And anyone who's interested in learning more about St. Francis House and the truly wonderful work they do, should check it out, too.)