Direct mail acquisition has faced a bumpy road over the last several years.
Many nonprofit organizations have seen declining prospect universes, rising costs and shifting donor behaviors that challenge traditional fundraising strategies. The result for many organizations has been fewer new donors to support their causes.
But as we move deeper into 2025, we’re starting to see early signs that the floor may have been reached. That’s an opportunity nonprofits need to understand—and act on.
In this blog post, we’ll break down the changes in the acquisition landscape, how they have affected nonprofit fundraising and what strategies nonprofits should use in response.
Understanding the decline: What’s been happening?
We’ve tracked the direct response prospect list universe closely over the past five years. While we have seen a decline in available universes, it has not been as pronounced overall as it appears within certain organizations.
Why the steep drop for some organizations vs. others? Several factors have played a role:
- Pandemic giving highs and natural attrition: Many organizations saw a large influx of one-time donors in 2020-21, who have now lapsed, meaning the core donor universe has adjusted accordingly. The silver lining? Active donor retention rates are starting to lift across several nonprofit sectors—an early positive sign for the year ahead.
- Response rate challenges: With inflation and economic uncertainty, response rates took a hit while materials costs increased, making direct mail a more expensive investment per donor acquired.
- Budget reductions and strategic pullbacks: As inflation took hold in 2023, some organizations made the decision to reduce acquisition budgets, further compounding the decline in active donors. Investing less leads to fewer new donors and shrinking files—it's a vicious cycle. But those who maintained or increased their investment in acquisition saw less severe declines.
- Omnichannel influence and attribution complexities: More and more donors are influenced by direct mail but prefer to fulfill their gifts online. This makes single-channel attribution misleading—an argument for embracing matchback analysis and an audience-first approach to measuring acquisition impact.
While direct mail acquisition likely won’t return to pre-2020 levels, we don’t anticipate the same rate of decline we’ve seen over the past few years. Early indicators suggest response rates are showing slight improvements.
For most organizations, there is still a viable prospect universe available. We just have to lean into best practices and ensure direct mail acquisition is fully optimized.
Key acquisition strategies for nonprofits
Nonprofits looking to strengthen their direct mail acquisition efforts should focus on these key areas:
- Continue diversifying your list mix: Co-op models have helped bridge the gap where individual rental lists may fall short, and participating in multiple co-ops continues to be a strong strategy to mitigate risk. Organizations investing in diverse list sources are seeing better results.
- Invest in omnichannel growth: Donors are increasingly omnichannel, meaning integrating direct mail with digital efforts (paid search, social lead generation, email, etc.) is critical for long-term success.
- Understand and optimize the prospect universe: While some organizations are nearing their mail ceiling, others still have untapped prospect universes. Understanding where your nonprofit falls on this spectrum will help guide investment decisions.
- Lean into audience-first fundraising and matchback analysis: As donors continue shifting how they engage and give, it’s more important than ever to take an audience-first approach, ensuring all donor touchpoints work together.
The path forward
The landscape of direct mail acquisition is evolving, but the path forward is clearer than it was even a year ago. While challenges remain, response rates are beginning to show signs of stabilization, and for some organizations, growth is already happening.
Those who continue to invest in donor acquisition strategically—especially with diversified list sources and omnichannel integration—will be in the best position to succeed in 2025 and beyond.
Nonprofits that lean into these strategies will not only weather the changes ahead but also come out stronger, with a more engaged and resilient donor base. The key, as always, is to think beyond individual transactions and focus on long-term audience engagement that turns acquisition into lasting impact.
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