Price Testing: 
Essential for Successful Fundraising

(September 2003)

Successful Fund Raising

By Erica Waasdorp, Vice President Fund Raising, DMW

Do differences exist between commercial direct marketers and solicitors? Yes, many do – but the biggest such difference is price.

With philanthropy, the donor sets the price. All the solicitor can do is ensure that he/she builds enough emotion into the appeal to give donors a reason to make the price higher than they might normally pay.

For that reason, one of your biggest tools is the “ask amount.” Once you receive a first gift from a donor, you can build on the price of the initial gift by following a step-by-step approach of price testing and adjustments.

Through testing, it's possible to see which donors can be worked upward on the giving pyramid, and by which offers. Testing is vital in helping to improve response, average gift and the lifetime value of a donor or member.

Following are a few practical tips for testing “ask amounts” and establishing the relevant amount by type of donor and cause:

  1. Always test. What works for one organization may not work for another. Set your ask amounts based on tables driven by prior giving.

  2. Always establish a control ask amount string. For example, if the existing ask amount string uses a prompt for $15, $35, $50, $Other, and the resulting average gift is $35, you can begin testing and evaluating test results using this string as your control.

  3. Don’t ask for too much. For example, if you ask a donor who just gave $15 for $1,000, that donor may become upset and go away forever. An ask amount string that is slightly higher than the current gift, however, may work wonders.

  4. Use laser-personalized packages where possible. This allows you to easily test special ask amount tables that can be calculated based on previous gifts received.

  5. Consider using incentives. Again, testing is key. A certificate, a mention on a plaque or other incentive, especially for a gift of $100 or more, may go a long way for a low cost. It may even help improve your retention rate.

Erica Waasdorp, is vice president of Fundraising at DMW Worldwide, LLC. She has extensive experience running monthly giving programs, previously at an international nonprofit, and now with her clients at DMW. Erica can be reached at 774-773-1200 or via e-mail at ewaasdorp@dmwdirect.com. Visit DMW on the Web at www.dmwdirect.com.