Many Non-profit organizations use volunteers to help create and fulfill direct mail campaigns. This is great to help encourage engagement and use volunteers but if this is not done correctly it can end up being more costly.
How not to use volunteers for direct mail campaigns
Volunteers should not be affixing labels to direct mail letters or cards. To qualify for discounted postage rates addresses need to be cleansed, sorted and barcoded. If volunteers are attaching labels they will not have the knowledge on how to best sort the labels and will not get the full postage discounts that a direct mail company can get. Additionally high speed inkjet addressing machines can print the addresses directly onto the mail pieces much more efficiently. It is also most cost effective to have a direct mail company fold and insert any materials into envelopes, as this is done on automated machinery. Though there are cost involved using a direct mail company can save volunteers time to have them work on more important tasks that will be better uses of their time.
What Volunteers Can Do for Direct Mail Campaigns
Volunteers can be very helpful in many aspects of a direct mail campaigns. Some of the best use of time may be in having them correct and update lists. Volunteers can look into the non-cassed and moved records and contact recipients to ensure the mailing addresses are up to date. They can also update the databases to ensure changes are logged for future mailings. Volunteers can also collect and log responses to campaigns to help determine the success of the campaign. Volunteers can also add personalized touches like hand writing signatures or notes which will help make the piece look more personalized.
The bottom line is direct mail companies have the equipment and knowledge to efficiently and cost effectivly prepare non profit direct mailings. There are often better uses of volunteer time than working on fulfilling direct mail campaigns and many times using volunteers can end up costing more money in postage and processing. If you are thinking of using volunteers it is best to discuss this with a direct mail provider to determine how best to use the volunteers without increasing postage and processing costs.