The National Park Foundation ‘Plan for Parks’ mini-proposal

Another good-looking and hard-working direct mail pack out of Berkeley, California. There must be something in the water there Below: Click on the components to see them in detail.

This case study appears in these showcases

• Direct mail showcase
• Regular, or committed, giving


SOFII's view

Medium of communication:

Type of charity:

Target audience:

Country of origin:

Creator/originator:

Mal Warwick Associates

Name of exhibitor:

Date of first appearance:

Summary/objectives:

This mailing is one of Mal Warwick Associates’ signature ‘high-dollar’ appeals, employing strong production values, multiple personalisation, upscale copy, and a major donor ask. The appeal, sent to National Park Foundation donors whose previous giving indicated an ability to give more generously, incorporated a personalised ‘mini-proposal,’ mimicking the sort of materials more frequently presented to prospective major donors following a face-to-face meeting.

Background:

The National Park Foundation was created by the United States Congress to support the country’s national park system by mobilising private support for the government agency, the US Park Service, which administers the far-flung system. For many years, the Foundation had been largely ineffective, far overshadowed by a private nonprofit organisation, the National Parks and Conservation Association—overshadowed to the point that many Americans look on the private entity as official. Then a dynamic new leader was appointed to lead the Foundation and dramatically increase private support. New staff and outside consultants came onboard, including Mal Warwick Associates in 2007, charged with overhauling the Foundation’s lacklustre individual donor programme. The mailing illustrated here was one of a large number created by Mal Warwick Associates to reactivate existing donors to the Foundation and to build a larger file through acquisition.

Special Characteristics:

‘High-dollar’ production values, upscale copy, personalised ‘mini-proposal’ format.

Influence/Impact:

Together with a number of other appeals targeting different groups of National Park Foundation donors and prospects, this appeal helped dramatically boost year-end fundraising results and lay the foundation for a successful, ongoing programme of individual fundraising in 2008 and beyond.

Merits:

The ‘high-dollar’ package concept and ‘mini-proposal’ format are elements of an upscale fundraising approach that Mal Warwick Associates conceived in the early 1980s. This approach was deemed revolutionary in direct mail fundraising circles – and, surprisingly, despite its demonstrated and sustained success, remains highly unusual more than a quarter of a century later. Over the years, high-dollar direct mail has raised tens of millions of dollars, largely in the form of gifts of $1,000 or more.