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contributed, or otherwise responded, to the mailing organization.
A “housefile letter” is a letter mailed to an individual who has
contributed to the organization or has responded favorably to a
communication, typically as the result of a prospect letter. An
organization’s housefile mailing is a mailing sent strictly to
that organization’s housefile.
An organization’s housefile, containing the names,
addresses, and other pertinent information with respect to that
organization’s previous contributors, can be a valuable asset in
that organization’s present and future fundraising efforts.
Typically, in a direct mail fundraising campaign, practically all
of an organization’s net mailing revenue will be generated from
its housefile mailings. As a result, a usual primary goal of a
direct mail fundraising campaign is to develop a productive
housefile of contributors for use in the organization’s
fundraising efforts.
In contrast to housefile mailings, an organization will
usually lose money or, at best, break even in conducting prospect
mailings. However, an organization typically first develops and
establishes a productive housefile through conducting prospect
mailings. Moreover, over the course of time, a housefile will
suffer from attrition. Not all previous contributors will
continue to contribute to the organization. As a result, even
after an organization has built up a productive housefile, the
organization will periodically conduct prospect mailings to
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