Advice for Reply Slip Amounts
Fundraising Lesson: The Reply Slip
Quoting from Fundraising for Social Change chapter on direct mail (by Kim Klein):
“People will read the suggested amounts until they find a number they are comfortable with, but all else being equal, people will generally choose the second option in a line of numbers. So given a choice such as:
$25, $35, $50, $100, other,
most people will choose $35. Put the amount of money or the membership option that you want most people to choose, and that makes the most sense, in the second slot and build your categories around that. Sometimes your numbers will not be in the order of ascending value, as in:
$35, $25, $50, $100, other.
You may wonder, why not start with high numbers or put a large number in that second slot? Because people will not pay more than they can afford, and you don’t want to scare them off. A group with this sequence:
$100, $50, $35, $500, other
may wind up giving a message that small gifts are not encouraged.
On the other hand, do not suggest an amount you would rather not receive, such as $5. If someone wants to or needs to send only that much, they can check “other.” By suggesting it, you will get it from people who could have given a lot more.”
Author: Amy Kincaid @ changematters
