As I round out my first year as a Good Worker, I’m delighted to see the stories our sector benchmarks, trends and testing across many different types of charities tell.

Already, I’ve seen firsthand how the tried-and-true methods still outperform newer digital channels when it comes to raising dollars (and even better when they’re combined!). Read on to find out how a recent renewal campaign offers compelling evidence that direct mail remains one of the most powerful tools in a nonprofit’s fundraising arsenal.

A tale of two strategies

The charity we’re looking at is one that has a local presence in the Toronto area. They send donors fundraising mail almost once a month and this includes renewal appeals, newsletters, matching campaigns, reminder letters and more.

In March of 2024, as a follow up to a new year renewal letter, they decided to send a single reminder email to supporters who hadn’t yet renewed their gifts. Now, in previous years they had always followed up this renewal letter with another short reminder letter.

This time, due to budget constraints, they opted to send one email in place of a follow-up direct mail package. Unfortunately, that strategy fell flat. The email netted about 8% of what the previous 2023 DM made.

Fast forward to February 2025, and they took a more comprehensive approach like in years past—sending a direct mail piece followed by two email reminders.

The results speak for themselves.

The full 2025 campaign generated an impressive 12x more net dollars than 2024’s email-only strategy. And comparing emails only? The 2025 emails achieved 124% more in net revenue over the 2024 email alone.

Why direct mail worked

Looking at the numbers from 2025 reveals some fascinating insights:

The direct mail letter achieved a 4% conversion rate—significantly higher than any of the email campaigns in either year, which ranged from 0.1% to 0.46%. While emails might be cheaper to produce, the direct mail component brought in over 80% of the revenue compared to under 20% from both 2025 emails combined.

This success reinforces what many fundraising professionals already know: physical mail creates a tangible connection with donors that digital communications sometimes lack. The letter arrived in donors’ hands, demanding attention in a way that emails—which can be easily overlooked in crowded inboxes—often don’t.

But even when we compared just the emails themselves, the two sent as a follow up to the letter in 2025 received over double the amount of donations compared to the one email in 2024.

This shows us how well mail and email play together in donors’ minds. They get an envelope in the mail with a compelling image, then they see an email with the same message and—bingo! They’ve remembered that letter and can now conveniently make their donation online (if giving through the mail is not their jam).  

Lessons learned

This campaign offers some valuable takeaways:

1. Don’t abandon direct mail in favour of all-digital strategies
2. Use emails strategically as follow-ups to reinforce your primary ask
3. Be consistent with your messaging, signatory and images
4. Consider an integrated approach that leverages the strengths of multiple channels
5. Track performance metrics carefully to understand what’s working

While digital fundraising continues to evolve, this example reminds us that sometimes the most effective way to reach donors is through their mailbox—not just their inbox.