10 Charities Win Awards for Marketing and Fund Raising

The Direct Marketing Association, in New York, has announced the winners of the 75th annual Echo Awards Competition,

recognizing charitable and other organizations worldwide for their achievements in the use of direct mail, multimedia or integrated media, and alternative media to raise money or promote a cause.

Ten nonprofit organizations received honors based on their creativity, financial results, and marketing strategies; two charities received more than one award. One campaign won a gold award, six received silver awards, and five appeals were awarded the bronze.

The only gold award given to a charity fund-raising appeal went to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, in Memphis. Taking a cue from the glowing family letters so commonly included in Christmas cards, the mailing focused on the true story of a 1-year-old leukemia patient at St. Jude. Her mother detailed the pain of watching her daughter go through cancer treatments so intense that she weighed the same as a baby not even half her age. The campaign managed to increase revenue by 50 percent in 2004.

The Law Enforcement Legal Defense Fund, in Arlington, Va., received a silver award for its campaign on behalf of Stephanie Mohr, a police officer in a K-9 unit imprisoned after she unleashed her dog on a fleeing suspect. An impassioned letter designed to look like Ms. Mohr had written it on a prison typewriter was the centerpiece of the mailing. It was accompanied by a reproduction of a crayon drawing that Ms. Mohr’s son, Adam, made for his mother’s birthday, which she celebrated in a West Virginia jail. The campaign mobilized more than 2,000 donors to give almost $280,000 to finance the charity’s support of Ms. Mohr’s appeal. The Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether she should receive a new trial.

Other silver winners included the Defenders of Wildlife, in Washington, for its “Stop Norton Now” campaign. In addition to encouraging donations, the mailing asked recipients to become involved in a campaign against Interior Secretary Gale Norton’s environmental policies by signing petitions and displaying a bumper sticker included in the mailing.

Several organizations won awards for campaigns that were designed not to raise money but to increase participation in a specific event or promote awareness of an issue.

As part of its “Speak Up” campaign, the Women’s Aid Organisation, in Malaysia, placed cards in restaurants and other public places to encourage victims of domestic violence to seek counseling and other services.

The American Heart Association, in Amherst, N.Y., sent invitations and save-the-date postcards to community leaders and past supporters asking them to participate in a fund-raising walk. The mailings, along with posters and other promotional materials, posed the question, “Who will you walk for?,” and showed pictures of shoes that had belonged to people who suffered from heart disease or strokes. Both groups received silver prizes.