Alan Sharpe is a direct mail fundraising copywriter, consultant and coach. He helps your development department run a successful direct mail fundraising program year after year. And that, naturally, includes managing your data.

Alan helps you get the most from your data so that you get the most from your donors. For example:

• how long do your newly acquired donors take to break even?
• what percentage of your new donors give a second gift?
• is this percentage increasing or decreasing?
• how much is your core donor group worth this compared to last?
• what percentage of your multi-year donors gave again this year?
• how do your first-year, multi-year and lapsed renewal rates compare with last year?
• do your renewal rates depend on the type of donor?
• which segments of your donor file promise to be most profitable if you pay them more attention?

Efficient database management is the key to an effective direct mail fundraising program. Your database must be accurate and current. And your donor communications must be customized to meet the unique demands of your many donor segments (new donors, multi-year donors, major donors, and more).

Alan Sharpe helps your non-profit take advantage of the latest database management techniques.

His data services include:

• segmenting your donor file by recency, frequency and size of gift
• flagging your donors with unique identifiers, such as date of last patient visit or patient type (inpatient, outpatient, emergency room) so that you spend your energy, money and time on the most profitable segments of your file
• producing variable-data paragraphs within each letter so that each segment in your file receives a message customized just for them
• creating segmentation strategies for testing components of your direct mail packages (including gift amounts, type of postage, variable copy and package inserts
• suggesting upgrades to gift amounts (which appear in the letter and on the reply device) based on each donor's giving history

If you need help planning and executing a comprehensive direct mail fundraising program that attracts donors, builds relationships and retains donors, let's talk.

Ready to move ahead?