What’s Inside? The Power of a Plain Envelope

Check fraud is having a moment — and not the good kind. Mail theft complaints are on the rise, and banks and the US Postal Service are warning people to be more cautious about mailing checks. As a result, donors are more hesitant to mail their gift than they have been in the past.

For nonprofits that rely heavily on direct mail, the takeaway isn’t to panic. It’s to adjust your tactics. One small change in particular can have a big impact: Employing a blank return envelope.

In today’s environment, we know that outer packaging needs to work just as hard to protect trust as it does to drive performance. And we wanted to test it.

Case study: Blank envelope vs. “My Gift Enclosed!” envelope

To test whether security concerns were affecting donor behavior, we ran an A/B split for a large client. The results are below:

Donors showed a statistically significant preference for the more discreet envelope with a double-digit lift in both response and average gift — a strong signal that discretion in reply envelope messaging can drive better results in today’s climate .

As fundraisers, we are stewards of donors’ generosity and have a responsibility to protect their privacy. The test above was just one way that we’re trying to increase security without harming fundraising performance. If you’re looking for other ways to safeguard their gift from fraud attempts, we’d suggest:

1. Dial back the teaser copy on your reply envelopes. Remove or soften phrases like “Gift Enclosed!”
2. Offer secure digital options (or even other types of giving) in your mail packages as alternatives. Highlight URLs, QR Codes, and Donor Advised Funds so risk-averse donors have easy giving alternatives.
3. Keep your messaging upbeat and positive. Frame any changes to your mail packages as upgrades to privacy and convenience, rather than highlighting fraud statistics, which can worry donors. For example, you might say, “Use the blank envelope provided to deliver your life changing gift safely.”

Ready to make a change? While these tactics may have worked for our clients, it doesn’t mean they will work for your program. Don’t just guess — test! Even small design tweaks should be validated with a controlled split. Use our Sample Size calculator to plan a valid test.

Our blank envelope test is just one reminder that fundraising success today demands agility. The strategies that worked a year ago may not be the best fit now. A strong testing mindset and the willingness to adapt to emerging trends, risks, and donor behaviors can be the difference between flat results and breakthrough performance.