Haul Out the Holly and Empty Your Pockets

They start arriving just before Thanksgiving. Bulk rate envelopes bulging with messages of gratitude, appreciation and requests for support. They often include personal success stories, prayer cards or other premiums--an assortment of Christmas cards designed by Native American children, a sheet or two of preprinted return-address labels. A personalized form may offer suggested amounts based on past donations, the return envelope may already be stamped. Anything and everything a charitable organization can think of to make a contribution easy and imperative.

During December, a multitude of spiritual, cultural and financial considerations collide to produce what is traditionally called the Season of Giving. Amid the carols and the candles, charities everywhere pull out the whole floor show--from food drives to dinner-dances to e-giving campaigns--in an effort to grab the attention of donors in the mood. It is the philanthropic equivalent of sweeps week--of the more than $190 billion Americans donated in 1999, almost half changed hands in the final quarter of the year.

The simple explanation is twofold--Christmas and tax deductions.

“From Thanksgiving to Christmas,” says Paul Netzel, president of Netzel & Associates, a charitable consulting firm, “people are attuned to the feeling that this is a time to give and give back. This is a tradition most of us have grown up with.”

“This is a time when a lot of nominal Christians reconnect with their churches,” says Claudia Mills, associate professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado, Boulder. “And many people want to wait and see what they have left to give, although this goes against the biblical admonition to ‘give of your first fruits.’ ”

Christianity is not the only faith that has a year-end celebration, and charity, Mills says, is valued by almost every religion and philosophy, in varying degrees. Some may consider it a moral obligation while others a non-mandatory virtue, she says, “but there really aren’t any dissenters.”

Even for the atheist and agnostic, there is no escape from the general social message--the bell-ringing Salvation Army officers, the law-enforcement-sponsored toy drives, the endless reruns of “A Christmas Carol” and “It’s a Wonderful Life”--all intone the same message: It is better to give than to receive.

On a less romantic note, this is also the time of year when individuals and corporations balance the books, often to find that a large donation or two might aid them come April 15.

Charities know all this and target their solicitation campaigns accordingly. “The first rule is: If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” says Netzel.

While those with a history of making large donations might find themselves deluged with luncheon and dinner invitations, for most Americans the requests come in the mail. Almost every charitable institution does some form of direct mailing--whether it be a members-only drive or a “prospecting” attempt to find new supporters--and many have strategies tailored for the end of the year, strategies that have been tested and studied as closely as any for-profit marketing technique.

According to Mike Birkholm, whose Arcadia firm, Birkholm Direct, is a direct marketing agent for nonprofits, the most important thing a charity can do is show quickly and clearly how it changes lives. Many organizations focus on telling one or two personal histories, which are easier to grasp, and more poignant, than a general description of social need. But, he cautions, too many specifics can be a turnoff. “When Mr. and Mrs. America are confronted with too many details, even if they are very true and real, they sometimes react by saying ‘Oh, it can’t be that bad.’ You have to avoid invoking the escape mechanism.”

Clearly explaining the organization’s history and mission is equally important, he says, especially if there is a religious affiliation. Faith-based works are generally perceived as being more powerful--calling a cause a ministry, he says, “packs a powerful punch with donors.”

The packaging is almost as important as the message--getting your request to stand out in the sea of bulk-rate envelopes is actually the first hurdle. Which is why some charities will segment their mailings, sending generous past donors their letters by first-class mail.

Birkholm says he is neither personally nor professionally fond of premiums such as return-address labels. “I can’t deny that they work,” he says, “but they work on a guilt factor. People feel they need to throw a few bucks in the mail because they’ve been supplied with merchandise. I think giving from the heart is more effective.”

Charities that include postage on return envelopes are counting on recipients feeling obligated not to waste a stamp, he says, but only because they have tested the practice extensively and found it to be cost effective.

At Para Los Nin~os, a Los Angeles family service agency targeting at-risk children, donations have increased since 1999 when the group began sending return-address stickers to previous donors. “It’s an appreciation for people who have donated in the past,” says Blythe Cotton, the group’s director of development and marketing. “And they act as a reminder every time someone mails a letter.”

Cotton is also aware that while people are feeling more generous at the end of the year, organizations such as hers have to be very conscious of timing. “You need to ask before Thanksgiving, rather than right around Christmas when people are feeling strapped,” she says, adding that they start selling holiday cards in July.

“We have been very successful with the cards,” she says. “A lot of companies are buying them now in bulk, so you have to get started early.”

Direct mail is still the most visible net thrown by the nonprofit sector, if not its most profitable one, but that may change in the next few years as e-mail solicitations replace snail-mail requests.

During the last decade, many charities have begun soliciting online giving, most often through their Web sites. Though revolutionary in its ability to publicize acause, the Internet has thus far not yielded a huge increase in donations--of the nearly 50 million Americans over 18 who have Internet access and currently give time or money to charities, only 3.5 million say they have given online.

E-philanthropy, says Myoko Oshima, president of the Southern California Assn. of Philanthropists, a group of private sector grant-makers, is “two or three times behind e-commerce.” Even those in the industry are shy about using it. At a recent conference for foundations, she says, when the audience was asked who had given online “only about five people raised their hands.”

Still, a few organizations are experimenting with e-mail as a way of distributing information, invitations and requests.

The World Wildlife Fund in Washington e-mailed a new holiday gift catalog from its Web site’s shopping page to a portion of its subscriber list this year. While it’s too soon to crunch the final numbers, says Sandra Paul, manager of member outreach and development, “there has been a huge increase [of viewers] on our site in the past three months,” she says. “The first week in November, we recorded the most user sessions ever in one week.”

While some in the philanthropic community are concerned that an e-mail solicitation might be considered spam and a turnoff, others believe it may become the most effective tool in the box.

“It works like a charm,” says Gina Lobaco of Bet Tzedek, which provides legal services to the poor. For the last two years, the L.A.-based Bet Tzedek has e-mailed invitations to its big fund-raising events to board members who then forward them to their circle of friends. This technique, with the unfortunate sobriquet of “viral e-mailing,” helped the organization almost double the number of attendees at its annual Justice Ball this summer. Next year, Lobaco says, the group is going to inaugurate a Web site with e-commerce and online ticketing.

“Of course, in terms of soliciting,” she adds, “it’s still like sex--you have to do it face to face to make it work.”

And that would explain all the mistletoe all over the place.