Subjects - Business

Your definition may differ, but I define a lapsed donor as someone who has not donated to your organization within the last year, two years or three years. Donors who have not sent you a gift in over three years are not lapsed donors. They are former donors.

Lapsed donors are valuable. Unlike strang

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ers, they have supported you before. And they believe in your mission enough to have sent you a gift (or gifts). That means they are worth mailing to. You can expect to receive an 11 percent response rate from a mailing to lapsed donors if your results are typical, says fundraising expert Kent Dove (

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

em>Conducting a Successful Fundraising Program. Jossey-Bass, 2001).

Here are some tips on writing an appeal letter that will win them back. In the fund development profession, the letter you write is called a recovery letter because it aims to recover donors who have lapsed.

1. Write t

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

one person

You will likely not know why each donor has lapsed. Donors stop giving for any number of reasons. Some forget. Some lose interest. Some get distracted with the arrival of children—or grandchildren. Others decide they do not like your new executive director’s ties. Each donor is

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

n individual, and the way to win each one back is to send a warm, sincere, personal letter from your heart to theirs.

2. Say “we miss you”

What you are trying to communicate in your letter is that you miss the donor more than their donations, which should always be true. You have l

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

ost a supporter first, and a source of support second. So write your letter in such a way that you show your concern for the person. Here are some lines to use:

We have not heard from you since March 2004. We miss you! We are counting on your renewed support this year for . . .

ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc

e miss you. We miss your moral support, and we miss your financial support.

We sure have missed hearing from you these last few years.

3. Invite the donor to come back

Provide a tangible way for the donor to renew support. Ask for a gift toward a particular pr

easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi

ject. Offer a subscription to your free newsletter. Do something to involve the donor and make them take action.

4. Customize your appeal

Whenever possible, customize your recovery letter to the unique circumstances of each lapsed donor. For example, if you know from your database

nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically

hat a donor only sent a gift once a year at Christmas, mention that in your letter. Or if another donor supported only one area of your work, mention that. The more that your letter appeals to the interests of your donors, the more likely you are to recover them. Here’s an example:

“The

and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ

last time we heard from you, you had generously responded to the humanitarian crisis in Honduras. You sent us a gift that helped us meet the immediate needs of that emergency. Today, I am writing to you because I think you can help us overcome another crisis.”

5. Match your lang

ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi

age to the length of lapse

Statistically speaking, the longer you’ve had to wait for a gift, the less likely you are to receive one. That means you should segment your database into groups of 12-, 24- and 36-month lapsed donors (or another criteria that you use), and send each group a sligh

ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a

ly different appeal. To a donor who has not given in a year, for example, you can say, “We miss you.” To the donor who has not sent a gift in three years, you can say, “You have supported us in the past. Your gifts made a difference. I urge you to renew your commitment by sending a gift today.” The i

dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod

ea is to be casual with the new lapsed donors and progressively more vigorous with donors who have not given in two or more years. Some examples:

12-month lapsed

“Your financial support in 2001 made a difference. Your gift at the end of this year will have a positive im

cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin

pact on the people, which in turn will lead to better health, hope and confidence for humanity.”

24-month lapsed

“Your financial support in recent years was a great help to us. Now I’d like you to renew your support by joining with me and the volunteers at

tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen

. .”

36-month lapsed

“We have not heard from you for quite sometime and yet your past support has made a difference for populations in danger. I think you can help us overcome this crisis.”

6. Tailor your ask

Some of your la

t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel

sed donors will have given once and never again. Others will have given faithfully each month for years. Each donor demands a different letter. The more faithful your donor has been, the more that donor requires a personalized letter with a personalized ask amount. In other words, don’t take the easy

ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust

way out and ask a one-time donor and a 10-year supporter for the same amount, treating each one the same way. You could ask the one-time donor for a gift that’s the same size as their last one. And you could ask the long-time supporter for a gift that’s the same size as their smallest one, or their a

y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products

verage gift over time, or their last one, and so on. I’ll leave the decision to you.

7. Win back their hearts and minds

Lapsed donors need to be persuaded again to support your mission. You’ll need to re-state your case for support, and address any reasons you know of for donors st

.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de

pping their support.

The two most important things to say in a recovery letter are that you miss the donor and that their support made a big difference in the lives of the people your organization serves. “A carefully crafted appeal that lets past donors know they are important, appreciated and miss

elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip

d almost always produces a net income,” says Stanley Weinstein (The Complete Guide to Fundraising Management).

© 2005 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the "About the author" message)

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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