37: Direct Marketing (Mail and Phones) Other Information:
The RNC has a long, successful history with its direct marketing program. It invested wisely in prospecting over the last
20 years. In 1996, the RNC invested $3.3 million and garnered 450,000 first-time donors who gave the RNC $169 million by the
end of 2012. In 2011, the RNC invested $2.6 million to garner 187,000 first-time donors who by the end of 2012 had given $18.1
million. Without the investment in 2011, the RNC would have had $18.1 million less in 2012, and without the investment in
1996, the RNC would not have had the $8.5 million from 36,000 inception donors from 1996 who gave in 2012. There are some
who believe mail is finished as an effective fundraising channel; however, according to John Simms of CMDI, "Direct mail was
the second largest fundraising channel and raised twice as much as the web" for Republicans in the 2012 presidential campaign.
In 2012, the cost for the RNC to mail a direct mail prospecting letter was $0.244. This low cost allows the RNC to aggressively
and effectively mail voter file records. Last year, about 39 percent of RNC prospecting volume was to voter files (almost
50 percent if modeled/enhanced voter files are included in the count).
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