It’s Benjamin Franklin’s 310th birthday—and did you know that America’s first national postmaster also created America’s first volunteer fire department?
Arlington, VA — January 17, 2017 – Like most volunteer fire departments, the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department in Arlington, VA, depends on local donations to provide support services to Arlington County Fire Department and keep facilities and equipment up to date as they receive no funding from the tax base. But Cherrydale has an additional challenge – the station, built in 1919, has been designated an historic landmark so a reliable flow of donations is essential.
For the 2016/2017 fundraising season, Cherrydale modernized its approach with the help of local experts at Click2Mail.com who agreed to volunteer their direct mail expertise to the cause of those who have served a community that includes The Pentagon for over a century. Cherrydale VFD paired personalized direct mail – a proven fundraising tool – with a modern-day twist — Every Door Direct Mail and QR codes that can be scanned with a mobile phone to connect givers instantly to a donation page. Compelling mail pieces reminded the station’s entire neighborhood about all that Cherrydale VFD does in the community in addition, of course, to fighting fires and supporting career firefighters in the area. The response has been outstanding!
“We did less work, spent cents-per-letter, and got more responses,” says Bo Pryor, a long-time member of the station. “You load your letter into Click2Mail’s online system and everything is printed, processed, and mailed automatically. But most important, the new approach has grown our community of supporters and increased the amount of funds we’ve raised.”
“For the last decade, the CVFD has relied on its annual fundraising letter for the majority of its operating budget. They printed letters, stuffed envelopes, applied postage, and lugged boxes of letters to the Post Office,” explains Lee Garvey, President of Click2Mail–“not the best use of a firefighter’s time.” He added, “Benjamin Franklin might appreciate the collaboration, since not only was he was America’s first postmaster, he also created America’s first volunteer fire department.”
Illustration of the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department mail pieces
Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Department is an important part of its community. It plans a number of annual events: a coat drive, a Santa visit, open house during Fire Safety Week in October, and general safety events. The station comprises members who are cross-trained as both firefighters and emergency medical technicians. Volunteers provide support to the career Arlington County Fire Departments with personnel, resources, and apparatus.
About Click2Mail
Click2Mail (C2M) is the nation’s most comprehensive digital-to-print mailing service — a unique platform that has redefined the way organizations large and small create physical mail for business and marketing. Whether the need is to send a ten-page Certified letter with a Return Receipt, 500 simple postcards, or tens of thousands of direct mail flyers to targeted lists, C2M puts everything you need in a browser window – on any device. What that means for customers is: no printing, no postage meters, no permits, no subscription fees and, best of all, no trips to the post office. C2M, founded in 2003, has disrupted the traditional mailroom model to provide affordable cloud-based, just-in-time mailing services that would otherwise be difficult and costly. Now any size organization – large or small – can make sending postal mail as easy as email. For more information, visit www.click2mail.com or call our U.S.-based customer service team 866-665-2787, M-F, 9 a.m.- 8p.m. EST
CONTACT:
Robert Deigh
703-401-6339
