Premiums suck | Agents of Good

Premiums suck | Agents of Good

People assume that the AOG natural position is this: Premiums suck.

Notepads, pens, shirts, bags, labels,
stickers, cards… yah. I would agree. More often than not, those premiums
suck. They are often used in acquisition and to me are the equivalent of spotting a friendly looking person across a room and shoving flowers and chocolates in their face and demanding they go out with you.And that approach might just work, in fact,it works a lot because humans are generally nice and when someone gives

us something (even if we don’t want it) we feel a natural desire toreciprocate. But those aren’t the donors I want.

However! 

Some premiums don’t suck.

Incentives with meaning - Information, research and resources for fundraisers and their leaders

Incentives with meaning - Information, research and resources for fundraisers and their leaders: Front-ended premiums are gifts sent with the appeal. Ideally they support what's being discussed in the campaign itself. These incentives rock at generating large numbers of new and repeat supporters.

Then there are back-ended incentives. Donate now, sign this, provide your phone number and we'll send you a key ring/bookmark/tote bag as a badge of honor, to show people how much you care about us. These also work really well at getting people to do what you want them to do.

The upsides and downsides of freemium-based fundraising - Future Fundraising Now

The upsides and downsides of freemium-based fundraising - Future Fundraising Now: The upsides and downsides of freemium-based fundraising

A lot of direct mail fundraising is driven by "freemiums," the most common of which is the good old sheet of personalized address labels. Other inexpensive personalized items, like notepads, bookplates, pens, coins, and greeting cards are also popular.

John Kelly - 6,244 address labels and counting for woman wooed by charities

John Kelly - 6,244 address labels and counting for woman wooed by charities: "But her most interesting record is something Carol jots down every day soon after her letter carrier has visited. It is a painstaking accounting of all the free stuff she gets in the mail. The bounty she receives from charities is a way to guilt her into donating to their cause. Carol started keeping track of it in 1998 and now possesses a meticulously catalogued record of the excesses of the U.S. direct mail industry."

Charities get a generous return from 'freemiums' | csmonitor.com

Charities get a generous return from 'freemiums' | csmonitor.com: "These gifts, known as front-end premiums or 'freemiums,' get mixed reviews from fundraising experts and the public alike. While freemiums typically bring in more money than they cost, the feelings of guilt and cynicism they can inspire may hurt nonprofits in the long run. '[Charities] wouldn't use this strategy unless it worked and brought in a good return on their investment,' says Tom Pollack, director of the National Center for Charitable Statistics."