The power of maps to drive your fundraising

Lift Monday: A series about the art and science of “Lifts” in direct mail fundraising.

Here’s one of those odd truths that will do you some real good:

When it comes to direct mail lifts, one of the most dependably positive things you can use is a map.

Maps just work.

I really don’t know why, just that they do.

It can be a map of anything: the world, a country, a region, state, even a village or neighborhood. And it needn’t be a map in the strict sense. Here are some “maps” I’ve used in fundraising direct mail:

• A floor plan of a facility the donor could help pay for.
  
• A diagram of a piece of medical equipment.
  
• A diagram of a vegetable garden.
  
• A cross section of a human heart (for a health offer).
  
• A conceptual “map” outlining the options for someone fighting a disease.
  
• A map showing the daily wandering of an endangered reptile.
  

It seems a map clearly communicates “this is real.”

Give it a shot.

Here’s a charming map that shows a local community as seen by a child. It was a lift used in direct mail by ADRA (the Adventist Development and Relief Agency). I love this!

Read the other Lift Monday posts