The National Do Not Call Registry – Clarified and Simplified

With multiple Do Not Call Registries and muddy rules as to what is and is not covered by DNC regulations, it’s no surprise that many nonprofit professionals still haven’t sorted out exactly what the new regulations mean to them. The following is a synopsis of the important facts that nonprofit organizations should know.

According to the Federal Trade Commission, more than 55 million consumer phone numbers were registered with the National Do Not Call registry as of September 16, 2003. While this is an impressive quantity, it does not signal the end to all calls at home. There are instances in which an organization is either exempted or not covered by Do Not Call regulations. For example, companies and their affiliates may still contact a consumer with whom they have a business relationship, even if the consumer is on the National Do Not Call registry.

In addition, charities, survey researchers, and political campaigns are not covered by the registry. These entities are also not required to maintain internal do not call lists or to scrub their internal lists of names that appear on the Federal DNC registry. An exception to this exception occurs if one of these organizations employs a for-profit marketer to do calling. In this case, the marketing company who places the call is required to maintain a company-specific Do Not Call list (according to privacyrights.org).

Many consumers are not aware that charities and survey researchers are exempt from the new restrictions. A significant number of consumers are unclear about who can and can’t call them under the new rules. According to a November 2003 article in Quirk’s Marketing Research Review, some 60% of consumers polled believed that market research calls would be blocked, while almost half (47%) believed that the DNC registry would block calls from charitable organizations. The poll was conducted one week after the registry was opened to the public. As a result of this lack of awareness, organizations that are not covered by the regulations should be prepared to explain their call to constituents who prefer not to be reached via telephone. Additionally, even though they are not required, exempt organizations should consider maintaining an internal Do Not Call list as a courtesy to their constituents and donors.

Summary: Be prudent, considerate, don’t take advantage of the rule and don’t misrepresent your purpose to donors.

Getting More Miles per Message

In these days of rising gas prices, everyone is looking for ways to get more miles per gallon. The same could be said for nonprofit communications, where the goal is to make your message travel farther. Quite often, it comes down to whether your message has any impact.

So how does an organization know which messages will have impact or not? Researchers often use a technique called a “gap analysis” to help identify which messages to emphasize or minimize in their communications. The analysis below is based on a survey that asked donors how motivating specific messages were toward their giving decision and their rating of how accurately each message reflects an organization.

The four most motivating messages among donors to health and international nonprofits appear below, with their corresponding accuracy and motivational ratings. The difference between accuracy and motivation ratings is the “gap.” The table is ranked from smallest to largest gap.

A positive gap means that the organization is meeting or exceeding the donors’ expectations for that message. A negative gap identifies areas in which organizations have room for improvement. Many organizations have totally closed their negative gaps simply by communicating the selected message more often and more clearly.

The results for health organizations show that there is room to improve the messages they send to donors. For instance, it is very motivating to feel an organization addresses a cause with which donors have personal experience. This suggests that it is advantageous for a nonprofit to communicate primarily with those affected by their work. Smaller gaps exist with regard to efficiency, being well managed and keeping costs low – slightly more emphasis is warranted. However, the most important improvement health organizations can make is not in the actual content of their message, but rather in how well they target the message they are trying to convey.

In contrast, international organizations would gain the most mileage by focusing on how well they manage the work they do. International organizations must ensure their communications effectively show what they’ve done, what they plan to do next, and how they performed financially. Donors also feel that international organizations in general must focus a little more on the basics - how they provide for those who are seen to have the greatest need, especially the young and hungry.

Generalized of course, these results show how even rudimentary analysis of survey results can help an organization get more mileage from its messages.

These results were compiled using data from the DonorPulse polls conducted by Campbell Rinker in 2003 among donors to health and international relief and development organizations. Each poll surveyed a random sample of more than 600 American donors who were screened for giving to one or more charitable sectors during the previous 12 months.

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DonorSpeakT is a free publication of Campbell Rinker, a market research firm dedicated to helping organizations obtain accurate feedback from their constituents through surveys, focus groups, personal interviews, donor file analysis and advanced statistical modeling.

© 2007 Campbell Rinker