New for nonprofits
Note these giving trends

For charities that depend largely on donations, these difficult financial times probably mean a downturn in giving. Or do they?

History should be a good indicator of future trends. In each of the previous recessionary periods since the Foundation Center, which provides research tools to nonprofits and grant makers, began collecting data in 1975 (and then in 1980, 1981–82, 1990–91 and 2001), giving to U.S. foundations actually increased slightly.

Although not as cheery of an outlook, a report from Giving USA, which follows trends on charitable giving, found that giving slows during recessions, although only by about 1%. Longer recessions generally show a giving decline of about 2.7% annually.

A survey for the first nine months of 2008 from information provider GuideStar showed that 35% of nonprofits had a downturn in giving compared with the same period the previous year. And 38% reported an increase in contributions.

Older Americans planning to increase volunteerism

Four of every 10 Americans age 50 and older plan to increase their volunteer work in the next five years, according to a report released by AARP. The report, More to Give, was a joint effort between AARP and Civic Enterprises and studied volunteerism trends in the baby boom and “silent” (one generation older) generations.

Other key findings showed that the main motivations of these generations to volunteer are to “help people in need” and to “stay healthy and active.” The biggest obstacles preventing older generations from volunteering are lack of time and the need to make money.

Is your postage meter compliant?

The United States Postal Service set a deadline for the replacement of all rotary/mechanical postal meters with digital ones by the beginning of 2009. This replacement process began in 1995 and removed more than 750,000 rotary meters, which were more susceptible to tampering and fraud than their digital successors.

Although you can no longer download funds to a rotary meter, postal meter customers have until June 30, 2009, to apply for and receive a refund for any remaining postage on a rotary meter. For more information, contact USPS Postage Technology Management at ptm@usps.gov.

E-mail marketing tips

In a down economy, using some of your marketing budget on e-mail can be a good investment. E-mail has a return on investment of $45.05 for every dollar spent, according to an October 2008 report by the Direct Marketing Association. This compares to other noncatalog direct marketing that has an ROI of $15.55.

MailerMailer publishes an Email Marketing Metrics Report every six months, and its latest report indicates that:

• Sundays and Mondays are the best days for sending e-mail marketing messages,
  
  
• E-mails with shorter subject lines generally are more successful, and
  
  
• Personalized messages receive higher click rates on their links, but tend to get lower opening rates (probably because they’re blocked by spam filters).

So consider putting snail mail on the back burner and save postage, but plan your e-mail campaigns wisely. •