| Amidst escalating costs of financing non-profit education, publicly supported educational institutions have become increasingly aware of the need for identifying and cultivating new resources for increasing funding and support. Marketing strategies, advertising campaigns, and promotional marketing programs that are carefully researched, constructed, and designed for fund-raising activities can help many non-profit educational organizations realize additional revenue opportunities.; This investigation applied the theoretical construct of reciprocity to a direct-mail promotional support request solicitation for new member/donors at a non-profit educational art institution. Four hundred households randomly assigned to each of three experimental conditions were offered different reciprocity forms in a direct-mail solicitation measuring their relative effectiveness and whether reciprocity would produce response rate differences.; The manipulated independent variable comprised a type of institutional support request sent to 400 households in each of three conditions (N = 1200). Dependent measures were two types of responses to the direct-mail solicitation: (a) joining as a new member, or (b) sending in monetary contributions. Promotional print materials comprising a four-color gallery invitation and a four-color brochure included in direct-mail packages consisting of a letter, membership brochure, and response form produced higher response rates than solicitations not containing these materials. Chi-square analysis determined differences among participant rates of response for conditions A, B, and C. Response rates among conditions were statistically significant (chi2 = 9.35, p < 0.0093), supporting the theory that types of promotional support request containing additional forms of reciprocity (i.e., four-color brochures, four-color invitations, and imprinted magnets) increase participant response.; Measured differences within and between conditions found response rates, as differentiated by dollar amount, statistically significant (F = 7.69, p = .0088) with membership dollars exceeding donor dollars. Empirical evidence supports incorporating forms of reciprocity into direct-mail promotional efforts to produce greater dollar responses from targeted markets. Effective marketing techniques and conditions are discussed.; Implications include utilizing direct-mail marketing strategies carefully developed, designed, and targeted to achieve impact. This investigation helps non-profit educational organizations (colleges, schools, and independent learning programs) formulate techniques for establishing market positions for services. Other types of non-profit organizations can review marketing materials designed to increase organizational awareness and identity. |
